Feel-Good Story of the Day: With the help of Spider-Man, Edgar Hansen and Jake Anderson of the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch, local politicians and police officers, and hundreds of volunteers, the Pacific Northwest chapter of the Make-A-Wish foundation was able to transform 13-year-old liver cancer patient Erik Martin into a full-fledged superhero for a day.
From the Seattle Times:
Pulling off a wish like this one required a big story, and a lot of heart. And so, with a note of panic in his voice, Spider-Man explained the dilemma: “Dr. Dark” [Edgar Hansen] and “Blackout Boy” [Jake Anderson] had imprisoned the Seattle Sounders in a locker room at Qwest Field. Only Electron Boy could free them. […]
Watching her son run across the plaza in front of the Space Needle, mom Judy Martin said Erik goes to school when he’s able, but is often too tired. “He hasn’t had this much energy in a long time,” she said. “They called it the power of the wish, and they’re right.”
Like any good superhero, Electron Boy kept his innermost thoughts to himself. But he did have one important thing to say:
“This is the best day of my life.”
[tst.]
This is a great story and the Make A Wish Foundation is a wonderful and amazing charity. I feel a bit sceptical sometimes about those charities who have gala dinners and celebrity spokespeople and are trying to ‘raise awareness’ for something. It can be hard to tell exactly what your money is actually going to and being spent on, or what tangible affect it will have. A few years back I worked in a call centre collecting donations for Make-A-Wish and we would hear the stories about the wishes that were done for the kids and it really had an impact on me, what the Make A Wish foundation does is extremely straight forward and clear cut, as stated on the website:
‘We grant the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope strength and joy’
The above story is a perfect example of this. Cancer treatment is a pretty awful thing to go through no matter how old you are, but for a young child it can be especially difficult. To be able to bring some joy into the life of a kid who’s normal existence revolves around extended hospital stays, chemo, injections, and all the side effects of living with cancer, is pretty special. To be able to take them away from all of that and make them feel like the most important person in the world, even if it’s just for one day, is an amazing gift. If you ever have the inclination to donate to Make-A-Wish you really should do it. Go to their website and read some more stories of wishes they’ve performed and the kids who it goes to. If you don’t feel moved then you might just want to have your heart checked because it may not exist.
