Some wishful thinking

PLAINS TWP. – Eleven-year-old Luke Modrovsky can sum up meeting NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon in one word.

“Unbelievable,” said the Mountain Top boy in describing his once-in-a-lifetime meeting last October with Gordon at the Subway 500, in Martinsville, Va. “Everybody was so nice. It just blew me away.”

Luke and his family – dad Stephen, mom Suzanne and 9-year-old brother, Noah – were the guests of honor at Saturday night’s 15th annual Crystal Ball, with proceeds benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and Southern West Virginia Wilkes-Barre Regional Office. The event was held at the Woodlands Inn & Resort.

Suzanne Modrovsky said Luke was diagnosed with retinoblastoma when he was 8 weeks old. According to the National Cancer Institute, retinoblastoma is cancer that forms in the tissues of the retina (the light-sensitive layers of nerve tissue at the back of the eye) and usually occurs in children younger than 5.

With the diagnosis came treatment and surgery – and something to look forward to.

Luke was approved as a Make-A-Wish child when he was 3 years old. “We kind of tossed around what we wanted to do, but we really felt that he was too young to make a decision,” Suzanne Modrovsky said. “And then we found out he had until he was 18, so we waited.”

The Modrovskys got word in April 2007 that Luke would get his wish. And Luke knew exactly what he wanted.

“(Gordon) was outstanding. I tell people that if you’re not a Jeff Gordon fan, you really need to be one,” said Stephen Modrovsky, who also credited those involved with NASCAR as being “wonderful” for the Make-A-Wish children.

And Luke’s presence at the ball was a real inspiration for those in attendance.

“It’s always nice to put a face to the wish,” said Maureen Murphy, Crystal Ball chairwoman. “We can talk about it and we can all get a warm and fuzzy feeling when we think about it, but when you hear it coming from the mouth of the child, it’s so special.”

At last year’s Crystal Ball, more than $50,000 was raised and 14 wishes were granted. Organizers were hoping to suppress those figures.

Although the regional office covers 11 counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania, money raised on Saturday night will benefit children in Luzerne County, said Lynn Hill, Make-A-Wish Foundation northeast regional manager.

Involvement in Make-A-Wish spurred one Wyoming Area High School student to use his senior project to benefit the charity.

Myles Dellarte, 17, has been selling coffee at school, and quite successfully as evidenced by a poster at the Crystal Ball that showed the teen was a Star Sponsor who donated $3,605.

Nancy and Carl Dymond, of Dallas, spent time Saturday night looking over items at the Silent Auction. Up for grabs were a signed Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins jersey, college sports memorabilia, restaurant certificates and vacations. The couple said it was their third time at a Crystal Ball, and they’ll definitely come back for another.