This wish was made possible through the help of Deloitte. Special thanks to Scott Read and Giancarlo Grassini from Deloitte for helping make James’ wish come true.  

James started noticing that he wasn’t feeling quite right when he was 17 years old and a senior in high school. He was soon told that he was struggling with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia which is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. 

James’ treatment was set to last 18 months with chemotherapy on an outpatient basis, allowing for him to finish high school at Holy Angels and move onto St. Thomas the following year.  Although the nausea and headaches made it tough to concentrate on schoolwork a lot of the time, he managed to graduate from HS, move onto college coursework, and in Spring of 2010 he was found to be cancer-free. 

His positive attitude, support from family and friends, and the promise of his trip to the World Cup in South Africa kept his faith alive. Wishes & More granted James’ wish to travel to the World Cup where he spent a week and half enjoying the culture, sights and sounds of South Africa with his mom and brother.  He attended four World Cup games, enjoyed the local nightlife, and made memories to last a lifetime! He was even interviewed by CNN to tell his story.  His story was also featured in this newspaper article.

Here are the answers James gave Wishes & More regarding his wish experience:

1.     Describe your excitement / anticipation leading up to the trip.  What did this trip mean to you?

Leading up the trip I was never more excited in my life. I have never been out of the country before and a trip to another continent was unfathomable. This definitely meant a lot to me because after a year and a half I am finally cancer free and now I was going to be at the world cup, which is a dream I never thought would actually come true.

2.     How long was the plane ride and what did you do to stay busy on the plane?

The plane ride was about 18 hours, 3 hours to Atlanta and 15 hours to Johannesburg. To stay busy on the plane I watched a variety of films such as The Godfather, Citizen Kane, Spartacus, and Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion: The Movie.

3.     When you arrived in South Africa, what people from Deloitte did you meet to show you around the area?  How did they help you and your family?

At the airport we met Giancarlo Grassini, an underling at the Deliotte South African branch, but a fellow soccer enthusiast.

4.     What was your favorite part of your trip to South Africa? 

My Favorite part of my trip was all the games. I am a big fan of soccer and an even bigger fan of America. Being at a U.S.A world cup game was really amazing, even though they lost to Ghana, the game was still very exciting.