Oregon teen with rare cancer living out dying wish in Denver

[Denver Native (Carol)]

DENVER -- Martin Howe grew up in Oregon, but he's a Denver boy at heart.

For as long as anyone can remember, he's been obsessed with the Broncos, Rockies and Nuggets. And, as it turns out, the feeling is mutual.

The teenager, diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), is in Denver this week, living out a dream of meeting some of his favorite sports heroes and seeing his favorite teams in action.

How did he become such a big Denver sports fan?

rest - https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/front-range/denver/oregon-teen-with-rare-cancer-living-out-dying-wish-in-denver

[OrangeHoof]

Nice story.

I remember a story about a dying 15-year-old boy in Australia who confided to the nurses that his biggest fear was dying a virgin. So the nurses pooled their money and hired a prostitute to come in and service the lad. Then the deeply religious parents found out and the lawsuits began. I guess these "make a wish" ideas have their limits.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Denver Broncos
‏Verified account @Broncos
2h2 hours ago

First, he called Martin to encourage him in his fight with cancer.

But Peyton Manning decided that wasn’t enough.

So 1️⃣8️⃣ and the Broncos surprised him with a visit & exclusive tour of @uchealth Training Center.

https://twitter.com/Broncos?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ct wgr%5Eauthor

[BeefStew25]

Nice story.

I remember a story about a dying 15-year-old boy in Australia who confided to the nurses that his biggest fear was dying a virgin. So the nurses pooled their money and hired a prostitute to come in and service the lad. Then the deeply religious parents found out and the lawsuits began. I guess these "make a wish" ideas have their limits.

Mo fake a terminal illness. I’ll handle the rest.

[Valar Morghulis]

Nice story.

I remember a story about a dying 15-year-old boy in Australia who confided to the nurses that his biggest fear was dying a virgin. So the nurses pooled their money and hired a prostitute to come in and service the lad. Then the deeply religious parents found out and the lawsuits began. I guess these "make a wish" ideas have their limits.

Yeah, because nurses do that. They might have turned a blind eye but no way they paid for it

[OrangeHoof]

You doubt me?

This was from 2001 as reported by the National Post, a Canadian website:


A terminally ill boy had his dying wish granted in Australia this month, but ethicists are still at odds over whether it was the right thing to do.
The wish was not for a trip to Disneyland or to meet a famous sports star. Instead, the 15-year-old wanted to lose his virginity before he died of cancer. The boy, who remains anonymous but was called Jack by the Australian media, did not want his parents to know about his request. Because of his many years spent in the hospital, he had no girlfriend or female friends.
Jack died last week, but not before having his last wish granted. Without the knowledge of his parents or hospital staff, friends arranged an encounter with a prostitute outside of hospital premises. All precautions were taken, and the organizers made sure the act was fully consensual. The issue has sparked fierce debate over the legal and ethical implications of granting the boy's request. By law, Jack was still a child, and the woman involved could in theory face charges for having sex with a minor. The debate was sparked by the hospital's child psychologist, who wrote a letter to "Life Matters," a radio show in which academics debate ethical and moral dilemmas. The scenario was presented in the abstract, with no details about the boy's identity.
"He had been sick for quite a long period, and his schooling was very disrupted, so he hadn't had many opportunities to acquire and retain friends, and his access to young women was pretty poor," the psychologist said recently in an interview with Australia's Daily Telegraph newspaper. "But he was very interested in young women and was experiencing that surge of testosterone that teenage boys have." Hospital staff initially wanted to pool donations to pay for a prostitute, but the ethical and legal implications prevented them from doing so. The psychologist presented members of the clergy with the dilemma and found no clear answer. "It really polarized them," he said. "About half said, 'What's your problem?' And the other half said [it] demeans women and reduces the sexual act to being just a physical one."
Dr. Stephen Leeder, dean of medicine at the University of Sydney and a "Life Matters" panelist, said the issue was a difficult one. "I pointed out that public hospitals operated under the expectation that they would abide by state law," he said. "While various things doubtless are done that are at the edge of that, it's important the public has confidence that the law will be followed." Jack's psychologist, who works with children in palliative care, said the desire was driven in part by a need for basic human contact. "In a child dying over a long period of time, there is often a condition we call 'skin hunger,'" he said. The terminally ill child yearns for non-clinical contact because "mostly when people touch them, it's to do something unpleasant, something that might hurt." Leeder called the diagnosis "improbable." Judy Lumby, the show's other panelist and the executive director of the New South Wales College of Nursing, argued that the details as presented made it abundantly clear the boy's wish ought to be granted. "I said that I would try my darndest as a nurse to do whatever I could to make sure his wish came true," she said. "I just think we are so archaic in the way we treat people in institutions. Certainly, if any of my three daughters were dying, I'd do whatever I could, and I'm sure that you would, too." National Post

You are correct that the nurses didn't pool their resources as I thought but only because they determined it was bad ethics. The boys "friends" paid for it and the act was done off site. In retrospect, that sounds phony and maybe it was all posed as a hypothetical.