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Wish Kids
Electric. That is the best word to describe the scene, as we approached the stadium. People were everywhere, in all directions, as far as the eye could see. There were some dressed in blue and silver with stars on their jackets, and others in red, white, and blue with a charging buffalo on their shirts. All of them coming together to be a part of Super Bowl XXVIII, and I was in the middle of it all.
It all started in November when my parents contacted the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I had been taking chemotherapy for a while and my parents wanted to do something that would keep me going to the end of my treatments. My Wish Granters came to my house and let my family and I know all of the details and choices that were available to us. After much deliberation, (all of five minutes) I decided that I wanted to go the Super Bowl.
Over the course of the next few months, plans and arrangements were made, treatments continued, and the excitement built. Finally, we boarded our plane and took off for Atlanta, Georgia. We spent several days there seeing the sights, and being a part of the festivities leading up to the Super Bowl. One adventure took us to the NFL Experience where we were showered with tons of sports cards and memorabilia. Then Sunday arrived. I could hardly contain myself, and I couldn't wait until the game started.
The game came and went and we watched the Dallas Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills. We flew home and fell back into the routine of life. I finished my treatments a month later, and was declared in remission in August of 1994. I look back on that time and I'm blown away with how many people worked so hard so that I could forget about my problem for a few days. I am left humbled and thankful for the opportunity because it helped so much.
A new normal is what I found. I did not know that that was what I was looking for, but it is what I found. Something tragic takes place in our lives and as we struggle to make sense of it, to rationalize it, to yell at God about it, to deal with the hurt over it, it happens. It gradually turns into normal. The treatments, the shots, the pills, the nausea, and the doctors' visits all become a part of the routine. It is not the answer, but it helps in dealing with the tragedy that we are going through. The answers will come from somewhere else and when we are not expecting them. Dealing with the day-to-day routine comes from finding the new normal.
My wish, with the help of so many people, allowed my family and me to escape the new normal for a few days, and it allowed us to be a family on a trip. Not that family with a sick kid, but just a family. My wish still has an impact on all of us. We appreciate the memories, and we are thankful for the opportunity to just be normal.
Josh Brown
Republic, Missouri
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