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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,
a wish granting organization based in Minnesota that grants wishes to
children fighting a terminal or life threatening illness, in hopes of
having her dream come true. Brittni is a huge Twins fan and, more
importantly, a Joe Maurer 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 the
Minneapolis on Sunday and spent the night at a local hotel to be ready
to be at the airport at 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 WAM volunteer met them at the ticket office. He now holds
a community relations position at 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."
This
young lady suffers from heart disease but on March 11 her heart raced
for all the right reasons. |
