A young leukemia patient who fought crime with Batman for a day and âsavedâ San Francisco in 2013, is now cancer-free.
Miles Scott, now 10, has come a long way since winning the hearts of the world when he became âBatkidâ and literally fought up-to-no-good villains after the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted his wish.
For the past five years, the now-fifth graderâs cancer has been in remission and heâs been âdoing great,â the foundationâs Greater Bay Area branch on Thursday.
âHeâs a happy boy. His life is what youâd hope for him: Heâs healthy, heâs in school, heâs doing what every kid really wants,â the groupâs marketing director Jen Wilson told CTVNews.ca over the phone on Thursday. âHaving a wish is wonderful but what children want most is to be healthy.â
For a refresher: Over 16,000 people and volunteers, including the cityâs mayor, transformed San Francisco into Gotham City â perfectly emulating the infamous stomping grounds of the DC comic book crusader.
âSince his crime fighting day five years ago, Miles has returned to being a typical kidâplaying Little League, going to school, helping his family farm, and even selling his first market goat in the local fair!â the branch went on to say in their release, adding that he still visits his oncologist once a year.
One of Batmanâs famous traits is his toolkit filled with high-tech bat-gadgets and it turns out Miles could be following in his heroâs footsteps.
âHeâs been studying science and robotics are apparently his favorite subjects,â Wilson said, joking that the boy might even become Batman.
Five years ago today, Miles Scott became Batkid and the world cheered him on. Now 10 years old, Miles is a happy, healthy 5th grader and has been in remission from leukemia ever since! Wishes have proven physical and emotional benefits and can produce better health outcomes.
â Make-A-Wish Bay Area (@SFWish)
Wilson, who helped co-ordinate the whole day in 2013, remembers how seeing the crowds seemed to give Miles bursts of energy he needed as he saved damsels in distress and from then-Mayor Ed Lee.
âIt kind of revved him up at certain points in the day. He could see the crowds and what was happening and he knew âOK, I got to go out and be Batmanââ she laughed. âHe truly felt like he was Batman that day.â
Wilson said the crowdâs expressions when they looked at Miles were âlike scenes out of one of those superhero movies when they look up at the sky and say âThere he is!ââ
She said that so many people related to Milesâ wish because they love the superhero character.
âEveryone got to put themselves back into their child-like perspective and think about how it would be for them if they had been able to live out their childhood fantasy,â she said.
Today, Miles lives with his parents, Nick and Natalie, his younger brother Clayton who had dressed up as Robin â Batkidâs sidekick that day â and his youngest brother Ben who was born after his wish.
According to the foundation, the family would âlike to remain out of the limelightâ but in the spirit of paying it forward, Milesâ mother wrote to Make-A-Wish asking if she could become a volunteer wish granter.
And she isnât the only one.
Since granting Milesâ wish, Wilson said multiple chapters of the foundation, including theirs, saw a massive spike in the number of volunteers and donations.
The foundation wouldnât specify how much it cost to grant âBatkidâ his wish, but said the average wish costs $10,000. Wilson said they havenât had any kids asking for the exact same wish, but sheâs seen similar superhero wishes being granted in other chapters.
Wilson was thrilled that Miles was doing well because the foundation doesnât always receive updates. She said Milesâ story is a good reminder that Make-A-Wish kids can beat their illnesses and live full lives.