Wish:
Getting to know Alžběta
As a young teenager, he was riding a motorbike with his friend and they had a serious accident; his friend did not survive. Our dreamer Honza was in a coma for a long time, fighting for his life. He came around after about a year, but his condition was still very serious. Thanks to the caring care of his parents and doctors, he gradually recovered from his critical condition, but suffered some serious permanent consequences, including damage to vital organs, and is wheelchair-bound. He also suffers from short-term memory loss and cannot remember most events for more than a few minutes.
Putting the wish down in words:
As his rehabilitation progressed and he was regularly meeting the Goldfish Dreamer-Helpers, his wish gradually became clear: he wanted to meet his favourite band, Alžběta, in person. We found out that after the accident he was able to remember the lyrics of all their songs and he loves to sing them. Music seems to have a magical power and some songs are imprinted in our minds whether we want them to, or not.
Granting the wish:
Honza did not just want to go to the band’s concert and listen to their songs. He didn’t just want to meet the band and take photos; his wish was to meet the members of the band. To have time to talk to them, and to annoy them a little. Because Honza is a master of jokes, after the accident he sometimes mixes up different languages, switching from Czech to English, German and sometimes Latin. He likes to tease people about it and see how they keep up with him. He asks them all sorts of questions – he’s usually very interested in their age, height, weight and what their name would be in Latin. It was clear that attending a concert alone was not to be a fulfilled wish for Honza. Ideally, he wanted the band only for himself, for example during a rehearsal.
I worked on this wish with my colleague Lucka, who was responsible for the implementation. She contacted the band directly through their website and a lively communication was immediately established. The gentlemen understood what Honza’s wish was and decided to do their best to fulfil it. Would Honza like to attend a rehearsal? No problem; they haven’t been rehearsing much recently, but they’d figure something out. Honza is in a wheelchair and the rehearsal room is in the basement? They assured us they would find a place that would welcome the band and Honza with open arms. We just had to set the date and time…
And how did it come out?
Eventually, we had to postpone the date because the singer of the band lost his voice. And that just wouldn’t have fit in with Honza’s wishes. However, a second appointment was immediately agreed and there were no obstacles to the meeting for the second time.
We met the family at their home and everyone was already dressed for hard rock. First, as always, the Goldfish handed Honza a handwritten letter telling him that his wish would be granted. His father helped him read the letter, but the picture of his favourite record made it clear to Honza from the beginning. As I mentioned earlier, Honza suffers from short-term memory loss – he knew who Goldfish was and that he wanted to meet Alžběta, but during the meeting he kept forgetting that he was meeting them that day. And I kept being a stranger to him. On the other hand, he remembered my colleague Lucka, whom he had already remembered during the first meeting and he kept addressing her “my dear Lucka” during the day. I think we both made a different impression on him.
The Alžběta band kept their promise and held the rehearsal in a community centre; only Honza and his parents were guests. The hall was also decorated to give Honza the best possible experience. Of course, the band also had the opportunity to introduce themselves, shake hands with Honza and have a chat. Honza is very eager to shake hands, but a little less eager to release the hand he’s holding – sometimes he even decides to test the strength of his own grip. So, there was a lot of handshaking and squeezing, during which Honza asked the trapped band members a lot of questions. In this way he gradually learned their weight, their age and a lot of other important information. Similarly, he assigned a new Latin nickname to each member of the band. The atmosphere was very friendly, full of laughter and jokes from all sides. The conversation was occasionally interrupted to allow the band to “rehearse”. In reality, however, it was a private concert where the band played Honza’s favourite songs at his request, and they couldn’t contain their laughter as Honza remembered all the lyrics better than the singer himself. At first, Honza was only singing aloof, but as the evening progressed, he became more and more encouraged, until he found himself on the “stage” with the singer in front of the band, singing directly into the microphone.
The concert and the meeting itself lasted for almost two hours and Honza enjoyed it very much. I have to say that his parents did too, and his father approached us to tell us enthusiastically that they’re already first-name terms with the band members and had exchanged their phone numbers. And both Lucka and I were gradually becoming big fans of the band.
The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts – Honza received various souvenirs from the band; for example, a T-shirt and a hat, which of course he had to try on immediately. He was also invited to the band’s next concerts as he is their biggest fan! Honza presented the band with a Goldfish plaque, which is given to everyone who contributes in some way to fulfilling the wishes of our dreamers. And of course, there were thousands of thanks, because such a nice cooperation to grant a wish is certainly not common.