Wishing Well Wishing Well - Summer Edition | Page 5

Blair proved to be a lucky charm for the
Tigers – cheering them to a narrow win.

YOU HELPED BLAIR SCORE A WINNING WISH!
Blair’s health deteriorated quickly. One minute he was fit and active, heavily involved
in sports – especially basketball – the next he was sidelined indefinitely.
An x-ray showed what his mum, Michelle, describes as ‘a massive growth’ and the very same day eight-year-old Blair
was admitted to ICU and sedated. He was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma and told he’d need treatment for at least
three years.
This treatment has resulted in many nasty side-effects. But pain aside, Michelle thinks the hardest thing for Blair has been
missing out on so much basketball and watching his friends and brother progress to representative teams. This is why his
wish to meet his favourite NBL team – the Melbourne Tigers – has been so important.
In the lead-up to his wish Blair talked about it non-stop; he also made a countdown calendar. Even when he was being
treated for infections in his central line and hooked up to a machine 24 hours a day for more than a week at a time, he
would talk about his wish – not what he was going through. Michelle says “The wish effect on Blair has been amazing; it
has been such a positive focus for him and has had a flow through effect on the rest of the family. It is so difficult to watch
your child go through such a difficult time, all you want to do is take the pain away, but this wish has been something
amazing for us all to focus on and that is something that money just can’t buy.”
Thanks to your generous support, Blair’s wish came true recently and it was beyond his wildest dreams! Not only did he
meet the entire Melbourne Tigers NBL team, he was invited to travel to Townsville with them to take on local team, the
Crocodiles! Things just got better and better as he joined his favourite players in pre-game activities, was presented with
his own uniform, led the team on court and even sat on the bench to watch the game!
The players called Blair their lucky charm after coming away with a narrow win and even said his enthusiasm and love of
the game reminded them why they had pursued careers in basketball!
Thank you for helping make Blair’s wish come true. ■