SEATTLE - A group of strangers rallies to help make a woman's wish come true for her dying grandson. Simply stated - she wished for time.
"Today is a special day because we're trying to enjoy every day left," said Joanne Greco.
Her grandson, 21-year-old Randy Saso-Shaw, has had very few good days lately.
"There is no cure for brain tumors. It's a devastating diagnosis," said Greco.
Cancer has become a stopwatch on Randy's life, one that's quickly winding down.
"He was given weeks to six months, and this was three months ago. And daily we're seeing his symptoms progress and get worse and worse," said Greco.
So Greco sent a plea into cyberspace through the website www.wafish.com. "I just wrote that my wish for my grandson before he dies was to take him fishing."
And a community of fishermen rallied, refusing Greco's offer of payment, to make her wish come true.
"We saw Joanne's blog. After reading it, your heart just drops," said Paul Shen from Bellevue, who donated his time as a guide.
Logan Little offered up his family's boat after reading the blog.
"It just made me think of how that would feel, if one of your family members would pass away," said the 12-year-old Redmond boy.
"Everybody kind of pulled together and made it happen today," said Brian Walters, from Sultan, who hit up his friends for fishing gear.
"They're great people and I really appreciate it.... it's awesome. They got me my own fishing pole. It makes me feel good that people do things like that," said Randy, who lives with his parents in Gig Harbor.
They're all strangers from different walks of life, all meeting for the first time, to take Randy, his sister and grandmother on his first-ever fishing trip. They've given Randy's family the simple gift of quality time together without stress or medical appointments, and the priceless gift of memories.
"I've had a wonderful day with him today, and I'm going to celebrate as many more as we have," said Greco. She credits the website www.chriselliottfund.org for helping her family through this crisis.
To add a comment, please register or login.