An eleven-year-old Zurich boy gave back to the charity that made his wish come true three years ago, rappelling down the side of one of the tallest highrises in London’s downtown core Friday morning.
Brandon Ducharme was diagnosed with leukemia when he was four-years-old. Three years of chemotherapy treatments behind him, Brandon lives cancer free and is always looking for ways to support the Make-A-Wish foundation, who sent he and his family on a trip to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
“It was really scary the whole way,” Brandon said, decked out in a harness and helmet in front of the City Centre, just moments after scaling down all 26 floors of the building. He’s one of 65 rappellers who will make the drop during the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s fourth Rope for Hope fundraiser in Forest City.
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“Once I saw the ground… that was my only goal. I wanted to get down their as quick as I possibly could.”
Although Brandon seemed calm and collected atop the building, his mother, Gail Ducharme, was experiencing a whirlwind of emotions down below.
“I was nervous at the beginning, but then the excitement takes over, and pride, and you reflect on why he’s doing it… it was a very emotional experience”
The Make-A-Wish foundation granted Brandon’s wish in the summer of 2014 after he finished treatments, so he could meet the superheros that he looked up to at Universal Studio’s Super Hero Island. Ducharme said the trip was a great distraction tactic, as her son prepared for different procedures.
“He would be getting ready to go in for a procedure, a spinal tap… and he was getting anxious about having needles and being put under, so we would talk about his wish and say ‘okay what are we going to do when we go away, who are you going to see?’ and that — for a child — makes a huge difference in the level of anxiety and stress that they’re going through at that time.”
Now, Ducharme says her son enjoys giving back to the Foundation, helping other children with life-threatening illnesses to focus on their wishes instead of scary and painful procedures.
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The Make-A-Wish Foundation Southwestern Ontario hopes to raise $130,000 through Rope for Hope on Thursday and Friday. The organization is working with 160 families at various stages in the wish-making process, and plans to grant 75 wishes this year.
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