An Ontario teen had his wish to meet his basketball hero come true this Christmas, thanks to a little help from Toronto Raptors superfan Nav Bhatia.
Corey Groves was diagnosed with a rare and highly aggressive stage four sarcoma cancer about six months ago. The 17-year-old teen from Brampton, Ont. has tried to maintain a positive outlook since his diagnosis, despite his type of cancer has a survival rate of 15 per cent and being given less than a year to live.
Groves is a huge Los Angeles Lakers fan, so when he was granted a wish from the Children’s Wish Foundation, he asked to see the Lakers play on Christmas day with the hope that he could meet his hero LeBron James, according to his GoFundMe page. But, when the teen received his Make a Wish box last week, he was surprised when found out that his wish trip to L.A. would not include tickets to the game.
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That’s when Bhatia stepped in.
Bhatia started working behind the scenes to see if he could make Groves’ wish happen. Once a plan was arranged, Bhatia visited Groves at the hospital to tell him the good news.
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On Christmas Day, Groves was invited to watch the Lakers practice before the game, where he was able to meet his hero James.
“It’s pretty safe to say Corey & the (family) certainly had one amazing Christmas to remember!,” an update on the GoFundMe page said.
“He shook the hand of his hero LeBron James! It was a rollercoaster beginning that slid nicely into place when he was surprised with the offer to go watch the Lakers practice, and it just got better from there.”
Groves posted a photo of him and James on his Instagram account.
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“Merry Christmas. I got my wish,” Groves wrote in the caption. “So thankful to everyone that helped make this happen.”
He also was given NHL tickets by the Los Angeles Kings to catch a game while he was in California.
As for Bhatia, he re-posted the photo of Groves and James on his Instagram account, saying that the credit should go to the Lakers, James and others instead of him.
“Hopefully this gives him the inspiration and motivation to keep fighting,” Bhatia wrote. “These are the (Christmas) stories that make a difference.
“This is why I love this game.”
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