Brittni is a 17 year old young lady from Geneva, MN who fights a life threatening heart disease called Tetralogy of Fallot. She came to Wishes & More, in hopes of having her dream come true. Brittni is a huge Twins fan and, more importantly, a Joe Mauer fan. On March 11, 2008 in Ft Myers, FL, at the Twins spring training ballpark, Brittni’s dreams came true!
Brittni, her parents and her younger brother and sister drove into Minneapolis on Sunday and spent the night at a local hotel to be ready to be at the airport by 5:30 a.m. They arrived in Ft. Myers, picked up their rental car and headed for the hotel to relax and enjoy the sun, the hotel pool and the beach areas.
Wishes & More wanted her to have a gift to present to Joe and we found out that Joe loves white cupcakes with white frosting. A bakery very close to their hotel was contacted and the head baker jumped on board and met Brittni early in the morning to decorate the cupcakes herself and have a hand in their preparation.
At 10:15 a.m., a gigantic, stretch Hummer limo pulled up to the hotel lobby. The driver got out, laid down a red carpet and Brittni and her family were brought to the ball park in grand style. A retired Mpls. Transit Lieutenant and a Wishes & More volunteer met them at the ticket office. The retired Lieutenant now holds a community relations position with the Twins and he escorted her to meet "the Man."
Brittni suddenly became pretty shy when she was in front of her hero but Joe made her very comfortable, spent at least 30 minutes with her and absolutely loved the cupcakes! He gave her an autographed game bat and Justin Morneau did the same. She received hands full of other gifts and each family member received their own gift bag compliments of the Twins.
It wasn't over yet. At game time, Brittni threw out the first pitch to her favorite player. Joe wasn't catching that day but he stepped in at game time to catch her throw AND SHE DID IT FROM THE MOUND!! The sky was a little overcast but despite the team loss to Tampa Bay, Brittni's eyes were sunny and bright.
Karla Blomberg, President of Wishes & More said, “I couldn't wait to hear about her experience so I called her that night and she said it was ‘Awesome!’ and when I asked her the best part of the day she said it was ‘throwing the pitch and getting hugged by Joe.’
We had no doubt that Joe and the Twins organization would help us make Brittni's wish an extraordinary experience. They are a great ball club and she is a great fan and a darling girl. It was a fun wish for us to orchestrate.
