Edmonton Foo Fighters fan battling rare autoimmune disease

An Edmonton man is fighting for his life here at the University of Alberta Hospital after a rare disease suddenly hit during a family vacation early last month.

His mother is now trying to shine light on the condition that’s left her son intubated and hospital-bound, and she’s reaching out for help from a special visitor to Edmonton.

“He’s like one of my best friends in the world. And just to see the determination that he’s had his entire life is so incredible,” said Jennifer Fehr, Tristan’s mom.

Fehr is speaking out for her 21-year-old son Tristan, who she describes as a passionate and talented musician who draws inspiration from the Foo Fighters and has sky-high aspirations, also training to become a pilot.

But right now, she’s trying to stay strong, shaken by the memory of her son being incapacitated by a sudden medical episode that saw him grapple with seven moderate to severe seizures in just 36 hours while they were on family vacation in Kelowna.

“Once we arrived at the hospital, it was almost like a mental break where he became frightened, anxious, and everything became very scary to him. We didn’t know what was going on,” she explained.

Tristan was airlifted from Kelowna to Edmonton with a rare and aggressive autoimmune disease called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, where the body attacks the brain’s receptors, described as a brain on fire.

“My heart just sunk in the moment,” said Matteo Sicolo, Tristan’s best friend.

For Matteo, it’s tough seeing his bandmate like this. He describes Tristan as a Foo Fighters mega fan, and was supposed to see them in Edmonton later this month, a moment described as his lifelong dream.

A song by Tristan and Matteo’s band Revera is getting help from a sound engineer who once worked with Dave Grohl, thanks to Tristan’s persistence.

“He does everything. There’s such a passion there, and he doesn’t let anything stop him,” said Sicolo.

Matteo says he’s going for Tristan, to show him videos from their set, and let the Foo Fighters know their number one fan can’t be there.

Tristan’s mom is echoing those calls, wanting to both raise awareness about the rare disease that has her son in hospital, reminding people to talk to your doctor if something feels off…

But also hoping to get the Foo Fighters’ attention, so they know the impact that the band’s music has had on her son’s life.

“The last time they were here, as Matteo had mentioned, that was right when the sad loss of Taylor Hawkins, so that concert was cancelled, and so Tristan wasn’t able to go see them at that point in time, so he’s been waiting a long time to see them,” said Fehr.

Fehr says her son has a long, slow, painful recovery ahead, but is just thankful for the care her son is receiving, optimistic he’ll be back to himself and playing the drums at the end of this journey.