Baby Nate's tiny hand was blocked from reaching the prime minister by the glass of his isolation unit, but it is safe to say he touched the man.
Mr Turnbull choked-up while recounting the moment he met the 11-month-old while touring the children's cancer ward in Randwick in Sydney's east.
"He pressed his little hand up against the glass so that we were touching between the glass and there were tubes coming out of his nose," the teary prime minister said.
"In the arms of his mother he smiled."
"He smiled."
Mr Turnbull went on to tell the crowd of staff and media that while Nate is only 11-months-old and can't really understand what is going on, he likes to think all the kids in the ward felt cared for.
The prime minister was at the hospital to announce the delivery of an election commitment of $20 million towards the zero childhood cancer project.
