Noa and Dwyane
By Trudy Ornellas
Noa Ornellas's mother
(Archive)
My Wish: Dwyane WadeI first heard about the Make-A-Wish Foundation when Noa was at the Painted Turtle Camp, a camp for children with life threatening illnesses. Noa had his interview and said that he would like to meet Dwyane Wade. I didn't know who that was and when I told Noa he looked at me like I was from another planet. I was then informed that Wade played for the Miami Heat and that he was the best NBA player ever.
Since we're from Hawaii, the time difference makes it hard for us to watch East Coast games. But that didn't stop Noa from watching as many of the Heat's games as he could and watching highlights of the ones he missed on SportsCenter.
After one and a half years of waiting Noa was told by the Make A Wish Foundation, that it looked like he was going to have to wait another year to get his wish, if at all, and that maybe he should consider changing his wish. It was heartbreaking to tell Noa and when I did he refused to change his wish. He wanted to meet Dwyane and he was willing to wait another year no matter how what even when I tried to get him to change his mind.
Two months later Make-A-Wish called to tell me that Dwyane was participating in the ESPN My Wish series and that Noa was going to get his wish. We were so excited that Noa's wish was going to come true and the countdown to the big day began. ESPN came to Honolulu and filmed Noa at school and shooting hoops at a local park.
Dwyane and Noa got along famously.
The time finally came for the big meeting so we packed our bags and flew from Hawaii to Chicago not knowing what to expect. Well, the reality was beyond our wildest dreams. On the day of the meeting, a limo picked us up at the hotel. Noa was so excited that he had a grin from ear to ear. We drove for over an hour to a restaurant where we were going to meet Dwyane for lunch. At first he wasn't there and Noa started getting a little anxious. We decided that we would order lunch while we waited. When we went to the counter to order our burgers Dwyane suddenly appeared behind the counter to take our order.
We were shocked… speechless.
We couldn't believe it was really Dwyane Wade. After that the whole day was magical. I thought he would give Noa maybe 20 to 30 minutes, but Dwyane shared two and a half hours with Noa doing everything from ordering hamburgers, playing videos games and just talking at the restaurant to a game of hoops on his "home" court.
Dwyane even shared some of his childhood memories and showed us a picture of his newborn son. He talked about everyday things and answered all of Noa's questions. For the most part Noa, who is normally a very outgoing and talkative little guy, was at a loss for words, just in complete awe that he was sitting there having lunch with the man he believed to be the greatest basketball player, ever!
Then Dwyane told Noa that we were going to his house to shoot some hoops. As we left the restaurant, he turned to Noa and asked if he wanted to ride with him instead of in the limo. Noa had a huge smile on his face and he couldn't believe he was going to ride with Dwyane Wade!
After we got to Dwyane's house he gave Noa a new pair of Dwyane Wade basketball shoes and they set off to the court for a game of HEAT and then a short basketball game to 10. Dwyane did some fancy footwork and made a few of his amazing shots while Noa just stood and watched with admiration and awe. After the game they drank Gatorade together and then Dwyane graciously signed anything my son wanted. Dwyane gave him an autographed basketball and lots of other goodies. Then Dwyane's wife and family came out to meet us and they too were so warm and welcoming we felt like we had known them forever.
Meeting Dwyane was absolutely worth the long wait. During one of their conversations he told Noa to always dream big. Well, Noa's biggest dream has come true and he couldn't have been granted a better wish than to meet Dwyane Wade.
I don't think he will ever know what an impact he made on Noa that day. He gave him hope to dream big and look forward to all the great things life has to offer. He is a superstar on and off the court. Dwyane showed Noa the true meaning of caring and sharing with one another and I know that Noa will remember that day for the rest of his life.
If you want to know more about the Make-A-Wish Foundation or donate to the cause click here.
By Trudy Ornellas
Noa Ornellas's mother
(Archive)
My Wish: Dwyane WadeI first heard about the Make-A-Wish Foundation when Noa was at the Painted Turtle Camp, a camp for children with life threatening illnesses. Noa had his interview and said that he would like to meet Dwyane Wade. I didn't know who that was and when I told Noa he looked at me like I was from another planet. I was then informed that Wade played for the Miami Heat and that he was the best NBA player ever.
Since we're from Hawaii, the time difference makes it hard for us to watch East Coast games. But that didn't stop Noa from watching as many of the Heat's games as he could and watching highlights of the ones he missed on SportsCenter.
After one and a half years of waiting Noa was told by the Make A Wish Foundation, that it looked like he was going to have to wait another year to get his wish, if at all, and that maybe he should consider changing his wish. It was heartbreaking to tell Noa and when I did he refused to change his wish. He wanted to meet Dwyane and he was willing to wait another year no matter how what even when I tried to get him to change his mind.
Two months later Make-A-Wish called to tell me that Dwyane was participating in the ESPN My Wish series and that Noa was going to get his wish. We were so excited that Noa's wish was going to come true and the countdown to the big day began. ESPN came to Honolulu and filmed Noa at school and shooting hoops at a local park.
Dwyane and Noa got along famously.
The time finally came for the big meeting so we packed our bags and flew from Hawaii to Chicago not knowing what to expect. Well, the reality was beyond our wildest dreams. On the day of the meeting, a limo picked us up at the hotel. Noa was so excited that he had a grin from ear to ear. We drove for over an hour to a restaurant where we were going to meet Dwyane for lunch. At first he wasn't there and Noa started getting a little anxious. We decided that we would order lunch while we waited. When we went to the counter to order our burgers Dwyane suddenly appeared behind the counter to take our order.
We were shocked… speechless.
We couldn't believe it was really Dwyane Wade. After that the whole day was magical. I thought he would give Noa maybe 20 to 30 minutes, but Dwyane shared two and a half hours with Noa doing everything from ordering hamburgers, playing videos games and just talking at the restaurant to a game of hoops on his "home" court.
Dwyane even shared some of his childhood memories and showed us a picture of his newborn son. He talked about everyday things and answered all of Noa's questions. For the most part Noa, who is normally a very outgoing and talkative little guy, was at a loss for words, just in complete awe that he was sitting there having lunch with the man he believed to be the greatest basketball player, ever!
Then Dwyane told Noa that we were going to his house to shoot some hoops. As we left the restaurant, he turned to Noa and asked if he wanted to ride with him instead of in the limo. Noa had a huge smile on his face and he couldn't believe he was going to ride with Dwyane Wade!
After we got to Dwyane's house he gave Noa a new pair of Dwyane Wade basketball shoes and they set off to the court for a game of HEAT and then a short basketball game to 10. Dwyane did some fancy footwork and made a few of his amazing shots while Noa just stood and watched with admiration and awe. After the game they drank Gatorade together and then Dwyane graciously signed anything my son wanted. Dwyane gave him an autographed basketball and lots of other goodies. Then Dwyane's wife and family came out to meet us and they too were so warm and welcoming we felt like we had known them forever.
Meeting Dwyane was absolutely worth the long wait. During one of their conversations he told Noa to always dream big. Well, Noa's biggest dream has come true and he couldn't have been granted a better wish than to meet Dwyane Wade.
I don't think he will ever know what an impact he made on Noa that day. He gave him hope to dream big and look forward to all the great things life has to offer. He is a superstar on and off the court. Dwyane showed Noa the true meaning of caring and sharing with one another and I know that Noa will remember that day for the rest of his life.
If you want to know more about the Make-A-Wish Foundation or donate to the cause click here.
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