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Ilion
girl gets her wish - and then some
By JOE PARMON-Telegram Staff Writer
Seventeen-year-old
Lisa Hazzard of Ilion was hoping to meet one celebrity, pop star Nick Lachey,
through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an agency that makes wishes come true for
youngsters diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses.
Instead, she got to meet a whole cast-full of celebrities.
After the
California-based Lachey learned he would be guest-starring on the ABC sitcom
"Hope and Faith," which is taped in New York City, he contacted
Make-A-Wish officials to set up a get-together with Hazzard on the set of the
show to make it convenient for the family, said Hazzard's mother, Karen Hester.
The excited Hazzard, therefore, not only got a chance to meet her idol Lachey,
she also got the bonus of being able to mingle with "Hope and Faith"
stars Kelly Ripa, Faith Ford and Ted McGinley.
Hazzard and her mother hung out with Lachey and the cast members for an entire
day on the set, watching rehearsals and a taping of an episode, sitting down to
dinner with Lachey and the cast and also touring the studio and visiting the
wardrobe and makeup room.
"They took her in and made her feel like she was part of the cast,"
said Hester.
Hazzard, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in May 2003, went home with a
T-shirt signed by Lachey and another signed by the cast of "Hope and
Faith." She also went home with the memories of a day she'll never forget.
"It was like living a dream," said Hazzard, who lists Lachey as her
favorite male singer.
"Everyone was very nice," said Hester. "She didn't approach them,
they came up to her. It put her on Cloud 9."
Getting a chance to meet several celebrities all in one shot is not something
that's typical of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
"It was a very nice wish. She kind of got a double whammy," said
Hester. "Even the Make-A-Wish volunteers were saying 'this is not
usual.'"
During their four-day stay in New York City, Make-A-Wish provided a stay at the
Waldorf Astoria, while Lisa and her mom also did some sight-seeing, which
included a visit to the Empire State Building, and took in the Broadway show
"The Lion King."
Hazzard travels to Boston about three times a year to receive treatment for her
cancer. Hazzard's radioactive iodine treatments attack the cancer much like
chemotherapy does for other forms of the disease, said Hester, except that the
iodine goes directly to the cancer.
"The iodine is very attracted to thyroid tissue. It's like a magnet that
goes right to those areas. It's very treatable," said Hester.
Hester added that her daughter's long-term prognosis is good.
"Her doctor said as long as you keep treating it you can live to a ripe old
age," said Hester.
Copyright Herkimer Evening Telegram. All
rights reserved.
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