As the countdown started he was ready to go, with a shopping cart close by, his glasses on and a purple shirt. As Starlight Children’s Foundation employees shouted, “go!” nine-year-old “Matteo” was off to the races, heading down the aisles of the LaSalle Toys R Us.
“Matteo” suffers from Hurler syndrome, a rare and chronic illness which involves frequent hospitalization. He was chosen by the foundation to be the lucky recipient of a three-minute dash through Toys R Us, with the right to keep as much as he could take off the shelves.
“I think I was more excited than him, and he was quite excited,” said “Angie,” his mother. She pushed the cart as he pitched items like a Nintendo Switch, a remote control monster truck and a Nerf gun. “He kept saying when I applied initially, ‘I’m going to win this.'”
The foundation is a charity aimed brightening the lives of children with chronic or fatal illnesses. It has been operating for almost 30 years.
Comments