By Khalida Sarwari
Santa Claus from Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is stopping by in San Francisco on Monday to meet with a 5-year-old Make-A-Wish child from San Jose as part of a bus tour of 26 U.S. cities.
Santa is expected to meet with 5-year-old Tomas Nieto, a Make-A-Wish recipient from San Jose, whose wish is to meet wild cats. Tomas will receive a suitcase and a stuffed animal from Santa in preparation for his Jan. 9 trip to San Diego to see wild cats.
Tomas, who is in remission for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, will have his wish granted by the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
The occasion will also feature a performance by 16-year-old wish child Shelby Miguel who is planning to surprise Tomas by singing some of his favorite songs, her mother Gwen Miguel, said today.
Shelby Miguel was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer called Burkitt’s lymphoma at the age of four. In 1999, Make-A-Wish granted Miguel, who is now in complete remission, an opportunity to go to Disney World in Florida and meet some of her favorite princesses after undergoing aggressive chemotherapy for six months.
“When she was in the hospital she was entertained and her spirits were lifted by watching Disney movies,” Gwen Miguel said. “Sleeping Beauty, Mulan… that was her coping mechanism.”
Gwen Miguel said her daughter remains involved in Make-A-Wish, assisting with administrative tasks. The tragic experience Shelby Miguel underwent 12 years ago has inspired the Miguel family to give back to the organization in any way they can, Gwen Miguel said.
“Kids are being diagnosed every day with life threatening illnesses and it’s an important need to fill,” she said. “We want to be part of that fulfillment of wishes because we saw what an impact it had on Shelby.”
Miguel, an aspiring singer from Daly City and student at San Francisco’s St. Ignatius College Preparatory, will sing holiday tunes as ice skaters glide across the Safeway Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square.
The Make-A-Wish event will be held from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Santa will also meet with other children and urge children to mail Make-A-Wish letters to Santa at Macy’s during the holidays. As part of its “Believe” campaign, Macy’s is donating $1 per letter mailed in store, up to $1 million, to Make-A-Wish.
Later in the day, he is expected to appear at Macy’s at Serramonte Center in Daly City from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Santa started his tour on Nov. 26 in Bangor, Maine and is expected to visit a Make-A-Wish chapter in every city along his bus tour before finishing on Dec. 21 in Nashville, Tenn.
