By Tim Saunders on
A young man who suffers from aplastic anemia has written an account of how action star Jackie Chan granted him the wish of a lifetime.
The young man – identified only as “Nick” – has published his story on the official Jackie Chan website.
“Basically, aplastic anemia occurs when the subject’s bone marrow doesn’t produce blood with enough quality to sustain the subject’s body,” wrote Nick. "I had a severe case, and my blood was so thin it couldn’t clot a paper cut. The condition is treatable, and from June 28th to July 5th I was in a hospital bed, taking chemotherapy through a surgically-inserted port in my chest. During that week, I was visited by a representative from Wishes and More, an organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening ailments. She said they could make it possible for me to meet a celebrity. Jackie Chan was one of the first to come to mind. He was a great actor, an action star, has managed to survive all of his own stunts, and I had read his biography for a school project a few years ago. On top of all that, I knew he also did a lot of charity work, and was known to meet with kids in the same predicament I was. Not thinking much of it, I wrote “meeting Jackie Chan” as my number one wish and sent it in. [Later] I got a call from Wishes and More, telling me my wish had been approved. However, they said he was in China promoting one of his movies, so I would have to fly to Beijing to meet him.
“We arrived in Beijing, and it was incredible.”
Nick attended the huge Jackie Chan and Friends concert at the Birds Nest Stadium, followed by a special fans party the next night.
“Jackie screened a trailer for his new movie, which looks to be as amazing as his others. After the preview, he held an auction. He sold everything from posters signed by him to gift boxes of every movie he’s made. After the auction, he let everyone line up for pictures with him.
“I stuck around to meet him. We talked about his performance the night before, and how astounding it was. He talked about his next meeting coming up the next morning and how tired he was after all of these shows. I shook his hand, gave him a hug, and we were on our way. On the flight home, the only thing I could think about was how amazing the experience of meeting Jackie Chan was. It was a truly inspiring moment for me as a person to be in the company of someone so great and someone doing so much for the people around him. Jackie not only walks away from the death-defying stunts in his movies, but he also walks the extra mile to give back to the world and his fans. Jackie Chan is an amazing man, and a true inspiration to us all.”
The aim of Wishes and More is to grant the wish of a child between birth and nineteen who has a terminal or life-threatening condition which will require ongoing treatment and to provide a Scholarship of Hope to be used for higher education, or to give a memorial to the family in the event the child does not survive to have his/her wish fulfilled. To find out more about the charity, visit the official website.
To read Nick’s full story, click here.
Copyright © 2009 Look to the Stars
