Robb - tears of a wish granter

Elevator pitch

WHAT’S YOUR STORY?

I help people tell their stories before they’re lost.

MAW

This tale ends with me crying like a baby in my car, but let’s get to the story.

The phone rang Sunday night. My friend Nigel asked me if I was watching the program ’60 Minutes’. I wasn’t.

“Turn it on” he said.

The story was about seven-year-old Chris Greicius, a young lad in Phoenix with a life-threatening illness. Chris always wanted to be a cop, so family, friends and police made his wish come true. Chris was given a form-fitting police uniform, badges, hat, police boots, and lengthy ride on the back of the local police motorcycle.

“Do you want to do that up here?” Nigel asked me.

I was caught. To create that amount of joy with a simple wish, well that seemed like a no-brainer.

I used some of my broadcasting cred to reach the reporter who did the story, and he gave me the phone number of a lady who helped with the wish.

“We made his wish come true” she told me. “We’re calling it Make-A- Wish she said.

“Do you mind if we use that name up here in Canada?” I asked.

“Certainly” she said. “Are you going to do a wish?”

When we talked to the nurses and doctors at in the Oncology dept. at the Children’s hospital, they were very protective. These were their kids. They wanted nothing but good things to happen to them. There was enough suffering to go around.

They gave us a tour of the Oncology ward, and I will never forget those brave kids with bald heads and smiles to melt my heart.

The medical professionals trusted us. We promised each wish would be a joyous event for the child and the whole family.

Our first wish came from a 13 yr. of girls who wanted to go to Germany to see her beloved grandmother. Nigel put the air tickets on his credit card and gave me a half-worried look.

“Don’t worry” I said wisely. “If we do the wishes, the money will come.” And it always did.

My first wish was for eight-year-old boy who wanted to meet an acapella group known as The Nylons. They were coming to town in a couple of weeks, so I arranged a hotel, limo and dinner. The family didn’t know it, but my wife and I sat behind them, just to make sure everything went as planned.

At half time I introduced myself and said, ‘come with me!’ I led the little boy, his win brother and parents to behind the stage. And there waiting for them were the Nylons. For 20 minutes the little boy sang with his musical heroes, and he knew every song. EVERY song.

When we returned to our seats the little boy was spinning, jumping, hugging and singing. “He has never been this happy,” said his dad. “Tonight, this is not a boy with pain.”

After the concert we had arranged for the limo to be at the back door of the theatre to take them back to the hotel. But when the large crowd came out, they thought it was for the Nylons. But when this smiling, singing family got in and drove away, the public scratched their heads.

Make-A-Wish has grown to almost 70 chapters in north America and in 50 other countries, and the wishes are varied and memorable.

I want:

to swim with the dolphins

a computer

a new bedroom

to visit my favourite themed park

to give food and warm clothes to people who need it

to go on a family beach vacation

to go to Walt Disney World^® Resort

to meet my favourite NBA player

… and thousands more.

99% of doctors say wishes help relieve a family from traumatic stress.

A wish isn’t a fleeting gift — it’s a carefully planned journey, tailored to the child, helping them replace fear with confidence, sadness with joy and anxiety with hope. A wish gives a child the strength to fight harder against their illnesses.

I sent the limo on its way and began lightly sobbing. It takes so little to create joy… even in a very sick kid.

I got to the car as my sobbing stopped, and now with a broad smile drove home where I would begin 25 years in the local, national and international boards of Make-A-Wish.