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CNN Live Today
Talk With Make-A-Wish Foundation Recipient Brandi Bouchard
Aired June 20, 2002 - 10:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A special teenager wants to share a gift of hope with some of the survivors of the September 11th attacks. Eighteen-year-old Brandi Bouchard has cancer. Now the kind of cancer she has we'll talk with her about in just a moment.
But here's what is remarkable about Brandi. She made a very selfless request of the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Brandi wants to deliver guardian angel pins to the family who lost lives when the Twin Towers fell.
Brandi Bouchard joins us from New York this morning. And we are sure happy to have you with us in our newsroom there.
Good morning, Brandy. How are you doing?
BRANDI BOUCHARD, MAKE-A-WISH RECIPIENT: Good morning, I'm doing fine.
HARRIS: How do you feel this morning?
BOUCHARD: I feel great.
HARRIS: Good. Good. We're glad to hear that. That's the best news this morning.
Now what exactly the kind of cancer you have.
BOUCHARD: I was diagnosed with synovial cell sarcoma. It's a soft tissue tumor. It occurs mostly in teenager near a joint area. Mine was in my hip.
HARRIS: And what did that do for you? Did it keep you from walking, or?
BOUCHARD: No. I continued my everyday activities. It hurt a little bit, but I tried to keep up and do the best that I could do. February 1st, they removed the tumor from my leg.
HARRIS: Great.
BOUCHARD: They had to take one of my quadriceps muscles and a little chip off my bone, but for three weeks now, I've been in remission.
HARRIS: Hey that's fantastic. Way to go, Brandy. Way to go.
BOUCHARD: Thank you.
HARRIS: Hey, listen, so, as I understand it, the Make-a-Wish Foundation goes to children who are in dire health situations like yours -- and I'm glad to hear yours is much better and yours is improving, but they offer this opportunity for kids to make a wish, and it gets delivered to them. But you wished to give something to other people. Where did you get this idea?
BOUCHARD: We found out that I had a tumor on September 10th, and the planes crashed September 11th. I've always loved children, and I've always been very caring towards other people. A lot of activities my school did to help out, I couldn't participate in, because I was sick and in the hospital a lot. And I wanted to do something that would make myself feel better, and I could help, and I wanted to give the children and families who lost a loved one guardian angel pins.
When I was sick I received a lot of them. My treatment plan was for a year, and I was done in four months.
HARRIS: That's great. That's fantastic. So it made a difference for you, you think?
BOUCHARD: Yes, definitely.
HARRIS: Yes? You think it will make a difference for those who are receiving these pins from you?
BOUCHARD: I'm hoping so. I just want to give them a little bit of hope, and all the people in Maine, striving for them.
HARRIS: Let's see the pin, first of all. Do you have one with you?
BOUCHARD: Yes. Right here.
HARRIS: Here we go. Let's see it.
BOUCHARD: The pins were actually designed by a senior from Camden Hills High School. Her name is May.
HARRIS: Where is that high school at? What town is that in?
BOUCHARD: Camden.
HARRIS: It's in Camden, New Jersey?
BOUCHARD: Camden, Maine.
HARRIS: Camden, Maine, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. OK, great.
And how many of these have you given out? BOUCHARD: There was 1,000 made, and we have given out -- I don't even know how many, so many in the past couple days. It's been wonderful.
HARRIS: Really. So when you give them out, what kind of comments are the kids making when you give them to them?
BOUCHARD: Actually, we haven't given them to any of the children yet. That's on Friday. But Tuesday, we went to a firehouse ladder 11, engine 28, and they were all so great. They lost six people on their crew that day, and they were just so grateful to me that they could have something and a little hope, and they will deliver them to the families and everything, and that made me feel better. They were excellent, excellent people.
HARRIS: That is great. That is so cool. That is so cool.
BOUCHARD: Thank you.
And then yesterday, I actually met a brother and sister who lost their younger brother on September 11th, and they were just so amazing and so grateful that I was there, and that I was doing something that would help the families. They've gotten so much help already. But you know, it gave them a little bit more hope, and knowing that someone my age cares, and it was wonderful. They were so great.
HARRIS: What was that meeting like? What goes through your mind when you're meeting with family like that?
BOUCHARD: I didn't really know what to expect. It was definitely a life-long experience. They were so wonderful. They told me about their brother, which was amazing for me, and then I got to -- they brought me little presents, which was great, and I got to give them each a pin, and they are going to help in the delivering process, and they told me about how their family is doing, and it was just amazing how well that they are handling everything.
HARRIS: Well, Brandi, you are amazing.
BOUCHARD: Thank you.
HARRIS: Brandi Bouchard, thank you very much for coming in and sharing with us your story.
Good luck to you both on beating that cancer -- I think you're going to do it.
BOUCHARD: Thank you, Leon.
HARRIS: And also good luck in handing out those guardian angel pins. That's a great idea, and you're a great kid. I will go home and tell my kids about you. Have a good one. We'll see you later.
BOUCHARD: Thank you. You, too.
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