"I wish to meet YouTuber DanTDM"

Eight-year-old Mikey lives with cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that impacts his lungs amongst other organs, causing life-threatening respiratory infections. As his mum Kayleigh recalled: “He was diagnosed at three weeks old. We hadn’t even heard of it. I asked all the questions and got really upset."

Following this was a childhood dominated by physiotherapy and medication. He started physio at four weeks old and started meds at six months old.

Growing up with the condition has meant that Mikey has had to look on as his peers take part in everyday activities that he can’t do. When he was younger, he had trouble with things like sports day - his mates were faster and could run for longer.

Nowadays, Mikey takes the ‘wonder’ drug Kaftrio, which has vastly improved the quality of his life. Nevertheless, he still has to take a whopping 25 tablets a day and does physiotherapy three times a day.   

Mikey’s wish

Whilst isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic, the family turned to their Nintendo Wii as a source of entertainment: “It offered an escape during lockdown and a nice way to spend time together as the games we played were all multiplayer. It made lockdown way nicer," explained mum.

At the time, Mikey was just five, but he quickly developed a love for gaming and soon discovered his now favourite YouTuber, DanTDM.

“He loves gaming, he does something surrounding it every day. He wants to be a YouTuber when he grows up!”  said mum.

As well as isolating during lockdown the family has to be careful wherever Mikey goes, as catching a nasty bug could land him in hospital. He sees other children being able to do things he can’t do which isn’t very nice for him.

Despite now being on Kaftrio, Mikey attends hospital regularly for X-rays and ultrasounds. He has to get taken out of school for them and misses PE, his favourite class, but DanTDM’s videos have offered a positive spin on what would have been mundane hospital trips.    

Mikey's mum explained “Watching DanTDM’s videos offers a distraction in hospital. We load everything up before we go on his iPad. Sometimes we’ll be there for hours on end or overnight."

After finding out that he qualified for a wish, Mikey, his mum and volunteer Wish Maker Angela sat down for his wish discovery, a call where wish children like Mikey can share their interests and ideas whilst they explore the possibilities for their wish. During the call, Mikey’s passion for DanTDM was more than apparent - it’s therefore no surprise that his first wish idea was to meet DanTDM in person.

Mikey was so excited when he found out that he would be meeting DanTDM. That morning he went to school and told all his schoolmates on the playground.

On the day of his wish, Mikey, his six-month-old brother Jasper, Mum, and Dad made the trip to the Sky Guild Gaming Centre in London, where Mikey enjoyed some very special one-on-one time with DanTDM. “He walked in and saw DanTDM, at that point his cheeks went up. I couldn’t see his face properly, but I could tell that it had a huge smile on it!” said mum.

The action-packed day made Mikey feel so special that it was hard to single out a favourite moment. He got to play Minecraft with DanTDM, and they built a house together.    

How Mikey’s wish helped

The wish had a lasting impact on Mikey’s confidence levels, giving him a needed boost as he spoke so passionately to his idol about all things gaming: “Dan made him feel so comfortable and listened to him!” explained mum. 

The family now has lifelong memories to combat the ones made during an early childhood tainted by cystic fibrosis. As Mum told us, “When he went to school this morning all his friends asked how it was and we now have lovely pictures to look back on!”  

“It’s been so helpful to have people who take Mikey’s needs into consideration. Thank you to everyone at Make-A-Wish, DanTDM, and his team!”