Make-A-Wish makes local hockey fan’s wish come true
Posted Nov 6, 2019 09:10:49 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Make-A-Wish Canada stopped by in Kitchener Wednesday morning to break the good news to 15-year-old Tristan Bouchard that he would be getting the chance to meet his favourite team.
Tristan lives with cystic fibrosis, but that hasn't stopped him from playing his favourite game, hockey. And that was what he thought he was doing this morning when he suited up into his hockey gear.
However, when he stepped onto the ice, he saw his friends and teammates kneeling, and in front of them stood two Kitchener Rangers players – Riley Damiani and Johnathan Yantsis – holding the Make-A-Wish banner.
They broke the news that Tristan would be traveling to Montreal and get a chance meet his favourite team: the Canadiens. Even more important was that he would meet his hero, Max Domi.
“I've been just looking up to his game and just following his story about type 1 diabetes because I can relate with cystic fibrosis. He has to make the same changes—go to bed early; earlier than everyone else and have their routine, so he's ready to go and he's always keeping healthy.”
Tristan lives with cystic fibrosis, a fatal genetic disorder and the most common one affecting Canadian children and young adults. the severity differs from person to person, but all are affected by infection and destruction of the lungs. There is currently no cure, but life expectancy has increased over the years.
His father, Claude, was speechless and had a difficult time describing his feelings at the outpouring. His mother, Raluca, was on the verge of tears.
“For him, it's very difficult to play at this level of hockey without doing everyday his treatments—taking his enzymes—and he looks up to Max because of his type 1 diabetes, and he got to play in the OHL, having to overcome and discipline, and he really wants to meet him, he's a role model for Tristan,” she says.
Claude Bouchard says he hopes the the Montreal Canadiens can “pull a W” for Tristan, when they see them take on the Boston Bruins during their visit.
Despite it being his day, Tristan and his teammates still had to get in a good hour of practice, but luckily Make-A-Wish volunteers had cake and cupcakes waiting for them afterwards.
