San Francisco 10-year-old Miles Scott has beaten cancer. You may know Scott better by the alias Batkid. When he was five, in 2013, the Make-A-Wish Foundation helped transform San Francisco into Gotham City to grant Scott’s wish. At the time, Scott was battling leukemia, which the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting is now in remission.
As part of his wish in 2013, Scott, decked out in a Batman costume, got to zip around the city in a black Lamborghini, to a variety of staged events, complete with special effects, rescuing a damsel in distress, diffusing a bomb and arresting The Riddler and The Penguin. As a reward, the mayor presented him with the key to the city and a mock Gotham City newspaper with the headline, “Batkid Saves The Day.” The next year, Batkid threw out the first pitch at the Giants’ home opener. In 2015, a documentary of the event, ‘Batkid Begins’ was released in theaters and on DVD.
The city of San Francisco rallied around Miles and has offered regular updates on his condition as well as remembrances of ‘Batkid Day’.
Thousands turned out for Miles’ big day and videos of the event went viral, which in turn helped make wishes come true for other ill children, as the Make-A-Wish foundation was flooded with donations.
Recalling the event, Jen Wilson one of the directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation who helped organize the Batkid event said:
“He just thought he was doing his job. He took his work seriously. He thought Batkid might need to stick around.”
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants 15,000 wishes for sick children each year, which includes meetings with celebrities, family vacations and more.
As the Chronicle reported, Miles is now 10 and in the fifth grade. He plays little league and has developed an interest in science and robotics and recently sold his first goat at the county fair. He lives with his parents and two younger siblings on a farm outside of the city.
With the death of Stan Lee this week and other negative press, it’s good to see one positive development.
