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NS Patient Gets Trip to Super Bowl

When football junkie Luis Cortez suffered a life-threatening kidney illness a few years ago, he wondered whether he'd live to see the Super Bowl.

Now the 17-year-old Dallas Cowboys fan from Palmdale is not only healthy, but he'll be sitting in the stands during Sunday's NFL championship, courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

This story is from the LA Daily News. Click here to read from the newspaper's website.

"I am going to be going crazy for the Green Bay Packers," said Cortez, who will switch allegiances at his beloved Cowboys Stadium, which is hosting Super Bowl XLV. "I'm going to be a Cheesehead."

Cortez is one of 13 Make-A-Wish kids from around the country who are traveling with their families this week to watch the Packers take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Make-A-Wish football tradition began nearly three decades ago, when the Phoenix-based charity sent a 12-year-old to Super Bowl XVI. Since its founding in 1980, the nonprofit organization has granted more than 200,000 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

"Super Bowl wishes are a great example of the community spirit needed to grant every child's wish," David Williams, president and CEO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, said in a statement.

"We appreciate the NFL's generosity and continued commitment to making our wish kids' football wishes come true."

In addition to the National Football League, Chevrolet has donated 30 tickets so that families can join their children at the North Texas gridiron.

The children - from 10 states and Belgium - include Cortez and Raul Ochoa, 14, of Burbank, who suffers from acute myeloid leukemia.

Each will arrive Thursday, and will tour Cowboys Stadium, the NFL Experience theme park and the Dallas World Aquarium before taking in the game.

"Every wish is exciting," said Steven Vanderpool, spokesman for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, which last year granted 413 wishes worth an average $7,500 each.

There was the Glendale boy with leukemia who had wished for a treehouse, and got it.

And the Calabasas girl with cystic fibrosis who had her bedroom redecorated by HGTV "Design Star" Kim Myles.

Then there was the Valley Village boy with leukemia who got to meet Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown.

Cortez, a native of Mexico who grew up in North Hills before his family moved to Palmdale, was 14 months old when he was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome. The kidney disorder causes the body to leak protein into the urine, which can lead to severe body swelling.

Four years ago, he had to go on daily dialysis.

Then, in 2008, at age 14, both of his kidneys were removed at UCLA Medical Center, where he was awaiting a kidney transplant. One of those surgeries took place over the Thanksgiving holiday.

"He started crying - and told us he wanted to die, because he saw us crying and suffering," said his father, Felipe Cortez, 44, his voice breaking while talking about his only son.

"I told him, `Don't worry, mijo. You're going to get your kidney. We're together. Just believe in God'."

In fact, Luis did get a transplant, with a kidney donated by his mother, Teresa.

Today, the 17-year-old senior at Pete Knight High School is wondering who to ask to the prom. He also is hoping to attend UCLA to study either music composition - he plays the saxophone - or political science.

"Right now, I'm doing really good," he said. "I've always wanted to go to the Super Bowl, and I'm really happy to get the chance."