One Last Wish for Happiness

Forewarning: This is one of those "make you choke up" stories.

My agency's president sent us all an e-mail the other day about an 11-year-old boy named Adrian Gerber from Caro, Mich. who is terminally ill with leukemia. A member of her church works with pediatric cancer patients like Adrian and passed along word that Adrian's illness took a turn for the worse and he was asking for one small thing - greeting cards. Greeting cards make him very happy, and his one last wish was to receive cards from the community. So with heavy hearts, we each took a card, drew a colorful picture and wrote a happy message to brighten up Adrian's day.

The person who wrote the e-mail described Adrian as an amazing young man and the most caring 11-year-old that he has ever met. He's one of those kids who cares more about cheering up other kids who are battling cancer than he does about his own illness. Adrian finds joy in making others happy, so he absolutely deserves nothing more than happiness during his last few weeks on earth.

Here's a touching article from the Tuscola County Advertiser about this courageous boy.

Hearing Adrian's story and learning about the simplicity of his last wish really put things into perspective. So many people think happiness equates to tangible items like money or flashy purchases. Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic when I save a lot of money from my paycheck or when I buy something new that I've wanted for a long time. But when all is said and done, are those things really the meaning of happiness? I think not. Adrian got it right - doing something to create happiness in someone else's life is the best way to bring happiness into your own. A part of me felt absolutely miserable for this boy and his family to know that his life will soon be tragically cut short. But an even bigger part of me felt proud and happy to know that I played a part in making Adrian's last wish come true.

Whenever you're feeling down, do something to help someone else out. It's the ultimate pick-me-up.