Children’s Wish Foundation International presents Fieldsboro boy with an all-terrain vehicle.
By: Scott Morgan
FIELDSBORO Not too long ago, the radio commercials broke Karen Lubbers’ heart.
The commercials featured children, often desperately ill, who had been granted wishes they otherwise had little hope of seeing come true.
So Ms. Lubbers gave her money and her hope to the Georgia-based Children’s Wish Foundation International, never suspecting that someone in her family might one day be on the receiving end of a genie’s wand.
Then came word last December that her 10-year-old son, Stephen, had acute myelocytic leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Soon after came a call from the Children’s Wish Foundation, asking Ms. Lubbers if she would be interested in donating again.
"I told them, I don’t think I can," she said. And when she told them why, "they said, ‘Don’t say another word.’"
Within days, the foundation shipped Stephen a package asking him what gift he would most like to receive. He told them he wanted an all-terrain vehicle (ATV).
On Saturday at Bucks County Kawasaki in Bristol, Pa., Stephen’s wish came true. And by Monday, the Lubbers’ Washington Street yard was in shreds as a result.
"And it’s fabulous," Ms. Lubbers said.
For Ms. Lubbers and her family, the sight of a yard torn asunder by youthful vigor is an obviously good one. Especially given that the six months leading up to Stephen’s surprise entailed little more than chemotherapy treatments and hope.
"To see him on (the ATV) is really cool," she said. "Two or three short months ago, getting from his bed to the nurse’s station was a struggle."
But all that, much to Ms. Lubbers’ relief, has subsided with the remission of Stephen’s cancer after the first wave of treatment. And while she is not ready to breathe a complete sigh of relief just yet there is a chance remission could become an active cancer again she said she is overjoyed to have her son acting like any other boy his age. Which, for the record, is 11 now.
Ms. Lubbers said Stephen was not quite so surprised to get the ATV and the accompanying goggles, gloves and helmet that came with it. After all, she said, he did ask for it. But his rapture with his new prize has more than fueled his excitement, she said.
"He’s doing fabulous," Ms. Lubbers said. Not only is Stephen happily tearing up the back yard, she said, but he’s also playing baseball with the other 11-year-olds in the Bordentown Little League.
Not bad, she said, for a kid who was facing a bone marrow transplant just before Mother’s Day.
"It’s amazing how people come together," she said of the effort to land Stephen his Kawasaki. "Just amazing."