Brandon's Mom journaled:

Brandon is 9 years old. He loves playing games and his favorite game is baseball and he's a HUGE Phillies fan. He enjoys karate and he is currently a white belt. He loves swimming in the ocean and enjoys our campfires too. He's in third grade.

Brandon became sick in mid April and after testing it was determined he has the AML form of leukemia. Due to the aggressive nature of AML, Brandon started to undergo chemotherapy treatments and was scheduled for a bone marrow transplant in February. Brandon's silly sense of humor has carried him through and has gotten our family through it too. His spirits are wonderful and he's fighting this cancer will all the strength he can.

Brandon wished to meet Shane Victorino. A limo came to our house to pick us up and take us to Citizen's Bank Park! We were met by two volunteers, Matt and Meghan. They took us to the locker room and showed Brandon Shane's locker and then...Shane walked in!


Brandon was in awe, completely star-struck and it looked like he was in shock. Shane was very nice! He gave Brandon a bunch of gifts which included a Phillies jersey with Shane's number and Crosby on the back. Brandon loves it! Shane took Brandon to their indoor batting cages and pitched some balls to him. Shane also took him outside to the pitcher's mound. Brandon pretended he was Brad Lidge throwing the winning pitch of the World Series. He dropped to his knees just like Brad. It was one of the best things I've ever seen! He ran out to center field with Shane to see how far Shane can throw the ball. Brandon is always testing himself to see how far he can throw. He really wanted to go on the field to see if he'd be able to throw from third to first base. I think he was surprised at how large the field is. Then we went back into the locker room and Brandon and Shane said their good bys. They then gave their individual interviews and Shane left.

TV stations, CBS, ABC, Fox and Comcast were all there for interviews. On the way to see the players work out room, Brandon spotted Brad Lidge! He also took time with Brandon. He was so nice too!!! After we said good-by, Matt & Meghan took us on a tour of the stadium. We went to the press room, the hall of fame club, the offices upstairs, saw the 1980 World Series trophy (the 2008 trophy is still on tour), the press box and saw so many of the fantastic displays! We went back home in the limo and stayed up to see ourselves on TV!

I cannot begin to express what this wish has meant not only to Brandon, but to my entire family. He was so sad a few weeks back and he's a completely different kid now. Watching him on the pitchers mound imitating a moment not to be forgotten in Philadelphia sports history and seeing him out on the field hanging out with his favorite player was a dream come true. To put into words how it felt to see something so special happening to him after he's been thru so much is impossible. I find myself at a loss for words. Maybe it's the pure exhaustion from the emotional rollercoaster we've been on this week or maybe it's just because I feel he deserves this. He deserves every wonderful minute of that day. He deserves an experience that will be worth repeating his entire life. It's a great story, but not as memorable as the story I'll be able to tell when Brandon's won his battle. He has a long way to go, but this was the boost he needed to keep fighting.