It was a lot for Rene Schaer to take in when she first found out her son was diagnosed with cancer at only three years old. But now two years have passed since Christian, now nine, became cancer-free.
He and his family say they couldn’t feel more blessed.
“He couldn’t be around children when he was younger, so he missed out on a lot and now we’re making up for that,” said Schaer.
And what better way to make up for lost time than the ultimate gift? On Thursday, July 12 Make-A-Wish Western New York and Camping World teamed up to give Christian the surprise of a lifetime, his very own RV camper!
“Can I just say we are overwhelmed and ‘Holy moly!’ When we walked into Camping World in Hamburg they treated us like royalty. They gave us badges and welcome signs for Christian and bottled waters and nice glasses,” said Schaer.
Schaer said Christian jumped up and down when he saw his camper. While he knew he was going to have a wish granted by Make-A-Wish WNY, he did not know that his camper would be so enormous. The camper came fitted with bunk beds that he requested, a queen sized bed for his parents, a sink, a bathroom, a table, a pull out couch, and a stove. He also received Scooby Doo pajamas, Scooby Doo artwork for his room, and a Scooby Doo sleeping bag to go with his Mystery Van camper. And did we mention, a television, too?
“I truly think this is going to be amazing, happy memories for him,” said Schaer. “We’ve never been camping, so this is an all new thing for us.”
Christian spent the first night in his camper enjoying a sleepover with his best friend, Andrew. Schaer said the first campsite Christian has requested to visit is Jellystone. Christian loves to give back to other children in need and has been doing so for the past few years. The family has collected toys and gift certificates for Roswell, but this coming year the family wishes to give back to Make-A-Wish.
“This was a huge thing they did for Christian, so we definitely want to start a fundraiser for them,” said Schaer.
Make-A-Wish is working to grant 25 wishes this summer. Wishes can’t wait. Become a wish hero and help grant a wish today: www.wny.wish.org/wishescantwait
