In spring 2008, Catherine and her social worker made their initial call to the Make-A-Wish^® Foundation. They weren’t divulging any personal information before they had confirmation that it was feasible to have her greatest wish granted, that was to attend the NHL All-Star Game in Montreal. The Game happened to be scheduled in January 2009, on Catherine’s seventeenth birthday. At the time of their call, she had just been hospitalized for three weeks due to her illness. Catherine suffers from essential pulmonary arterial hypertension and is waiting for a lung transplant scheduled for summer 2009.

Not only was Catherine able to attend the game; she watched the All-Star Skills Competition directly from the players’ bench! Catherine had the opportunity to greet the players in the locker room and her hockey jersey signed full of autographs. She even chatted with Sydney Crosby, her favourite player. Catherine wouldn’t stop talking about the players, and how she received a wink from Kovalev, how Mike Komisarek’s joked with her and, in general, how all the players had been so kind and warm to her.

At noon the following day, another surprise awaited Catherine. Thanks to the NHL Players’ Association, she and her family were invited to join the players for lunch, where they all sang “Happy Birthday” to her (not even photographers had access to that event.) That evening, a limousine took her to the game where she sat three rows from the players’ bench. Just when she thought things couldn’t get better, they did! Her favourite band, Simple Plan also performed during the match.

Thank you to Upper Deck, the NHL Players’ Association and one of our national partners- the Hyatt.

More Celebrity Wishes

1. Kelsey emes:

I hope you enjoyed the hockey game and good luck with you surgery.