Regina boy has wish granted, travels to meet the San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers made a lot of their fans happy last week, but Boston Schaan stands out.

The 13-year-old Regina boy — who has battled cystic fibrosis his whole life — was flown to California to spend five days with the NFL’s 49ers thanks to the Make-A-Wish program.

Schaan got a chance to tour his favourite team’s stadium, attend practice and watch as the 49ers defeated the Green Bay Packers 37-20 in the NFC championship game at Levi’s Stadium to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.

Boston Schaan at Levi’s Stadium on Jan. 19, 2020. (Submitted)

“It was a lot more than I ever expected it to be,” Schaan said Thursday. “It was really cool. I just thought it was going to be a stadium tour and just some signatures afterwards.”

Schaan was born with cystic fibrosis. His mother, Bernadette, said the family knew something wasn’t quite right when he was born and they finally received the diagnosis when he was six months old.

“(It was) like a big rain cloud sitting in your house. It’s something that we decided was not going to dictate our lives because it dictated my life and my husband’s life for the first two years of diagnosis,” Bernadette said.

“We both decided that we weren’t going to let it dictate Boston’s life. So we raised him to believe that he just had different needs than other kids but that he was completely the same. We didn’t label his disease until he was after eight.”

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that mainly affects the lungs but can also affect the kidneys, liver, pancreas and digestive tract.

Despite that, Boston remains active by playing soccer, basketball and many other school sports.

Boston and his family were told on Jan. 15 that they would be flying out Jan. 16 to the game, something that surprised them all.

“I didn’t really expect to be invited to a playoff game because we originally planned it for the 2020 season but they invited us so we kind of had to say yes,” Boston said.

Despite the short notice, Bernadette said the timing of the trip was great.

“He’s very healthy right now but there could be a day where he could struggle but then he will be able to look back at a time like this and remember the positives as well,” Bernadette said.

When the Schaans first arrived, they were met at the airport by San Francisco defensive tackle D.J. Jones.

Boston Schaan and his family at Levi’s Stadium on Jan. 19, 2020. (Submitted)

“He was a pretty cool guy and then they brought us near the practice facility to look at the Lombardi trophies and then go to the stadium afterwards,” Boston said.

While Boston originally became a fan of the 49ers while quarterback Colin Kaepernick was taking the snaps, he since has got two new favourite players – quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and tight end George Kittle, both of whom he got to meet.

“Jimmy Garoppolo was pretty chill, he wasn’t really that talkative, but George Kittle was pretty funny. After we took one picture, he threw a marker at the camera lady, which was pretty funny,” Boston said.

He also got a chance to break the huddle following practice, a video that was posted to Twitter that garnered a lot of attention.

Break it down, Boston!

Ahead of the NFC Championship, 13-year-old Boston Schaan from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada had his Wish granted of getting to meet the team today. ❤️@SFWish | @MakeAWish pic.twitter.com/JiYKSFQIAB

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 18, 2020

“They just told me to go in and break down the huddle,” Boston said. “Afterwards, (defensive back) Richard Sherman shook me a little bit, which was pretty cool.”

Overall, Bernadette was happy with how the whole trip went and how accommodating Make-A-Wish Canada was with them.

“He’s completely a sports kid. He doesn’t watch cartoons, he doesn’t watch TV, he only watches sports,” Bernadette said. “To see (the 49ers) up close and to interact with them and to be there for a large game was something where his twinkle was in his eye and his dimples were going. (There were) a lot of big smiles.”