Wish:
Mobile phone
Vojta is a young teenager with cancer and he is only at the beginning of his treatment – his treatment started only a couple of months ago. According to his mother, he was coping very badly with the first phase of chemotherapy – he was used to an active life and could not cope with the long hospital stay, physical weakness and isolation. Slowly, however, his mental condition is improving. Vojta was thoroughly thinking about his wish and was about to choose between a holiday trip and a new mobile phone.
Putting the wish down in words:
When we came to see Vojta, we were met by a nice, slightly shy and, above all, very modest boy. He spent a lot of time thinking about his wish and finally decided not to opt for holiday this time. He is at the beginning of his treatment and would not be able to undertake any journey for the next two years. But he does not want to wait that long. In the end, a new mobile phone was his main favourite. His said his phone was old, its battery was week and it did not allow him to play games on it. A new mobile phone would help him survive long days in the hospital. However, he also felt it a bit like cheating – he wanted to save up money from his part-time job to buy a new phone for himself. He thought it was silly to ask someone else. Mobile phones are a fairly common desire among children, and there are all sorts of reasons for this. Some, like Vojta, want to shorten the endless hours in hospital, listen to music, watch videos and play games. For some people, it’s the only way to keep in touch with their friends or family. They can enjoy being part of a group of friends at least in this way. For Vojta, it was important that he could use the phone for entertainment and that its battery lasted for a long time. Our discussions were centered on these features as well. He chose the iPhone 12. We told him that there were newer models, especially if he wanted the battery to last as long as possible. Vojta firmly rejected this – he said he had chosen the “twelve” and that’s what he wanted.
Finally, I asked if there was anything else missing. Maybe a little add-on that would make the wish the biggest of all wishes. It was obvious that Vojta had something on his mind, but he was ashamed to say it aloud. He did not want to seem immodest. After we continued talking for a while and I assured him that it was OK to say it, he decided to tell me what else would he like. I was looking forward to finding out what it was all about. Eventually, Vojta shyly revealed that he wished to get a charger for his new mobile phone, as he doesn’t have an iPhone charger yet.
Granting the wish:
The responsibility for fulfilling the wish was eventually taken by Matěj. We use Alza for similar purchases of electronic devices; we developed an excellent cooperation of many years with them, which includes various discounts, free shipping, etc. We also ordered the application of a protective film to make sure everything was ready and the phone could be handed over as soon as possible. Vojta was then due for another long hospital stay, and we wanted him to have his new phone with him when he went to the hospital. As always, if something seems to be simple and easy, there is a catch. The protective film was applied to the phone in a wrong way and we certainly didn’t want to give it to Vojta like that. So we hurried up, placed a complaint, bought a new protective film and entrusted the task to a true professional – that is, to the steady hands of our colleague who was attentive to even the smallest details. So, we ended up not buying any accessories for the phone other than the adapter and the charging cable.
And how did it go?
We went to visit Vojta and gave him the packages. Slowly, he began to unpack one parcel after another, trying hard not to appear moved. But his mother, an incredibly warm-hearted person, could not resist. She told us how difficult it was for her to apply and accept help at the beginning, but that she’s incredibly happy in the end. For her, it is a wish come true to see Vojta smile and be happy again.
Vojta was grinning from ear to ear, he carefully examined the contents of each unpacked box and then put everything aside. He didn’t even turn on his phone, he just put it on the bed and kept talking to us. We were a bit surprised by this and wondered if he was ashamed to use it in front of us. If I were him, I would have crawled into a cozy corner to discover what features my new phone had. That was not Vojta’s case though; he said it’s rude to use the phone when you have guests and that he’d try everything after we’re gone.
Feedback
As in this case from Vojta’s mother (let me quote):