A REDDITCH teenager had his dearest wish granted by Starlight Children’s Foundation, the UK’s leading wish granting charity for children with serious and terminal illnesses.

Texas Bishop, 14, was born prematurely and suffers from a number of medical difficulties, including cerebral palsy in his legs. At four months of age he required major heart surgery and he was not expected to live beyond the age of six months.

While he waited for a date for his heart operation, Texas was looked after by a doctor called Dr Christian Slabbert, who was responsible for reviving him on a number of occasions and for helping his family to cope during his treatment.

When referred to Starlight for a once-in-a-lifetime wish, brave Texas, who is in the army cadets and wishes to join the army when he leaves school, knew exactly what he wanted.

Dr Slabbert, who is now practicing in America, was named as Texas’ godfather when he was an infant and, although they keep in touch, Texas has always wanted to visit him in the US.

With the help of Texas’ mum Heather and Dr Slabbert’s wife Renee, Starlight arranged the trip without either Texas or Dr Slabbert knowing so that it would be a complete surprise for them both.

Texas and his mum stayed in the US with Dr Slabbert and his family for a week and, while enjoying spending time with them, Texas was able to visit lots of amazing local attractions, including a local airforce base where he was given goodies as a reminder of his visit.

On his return, Texas said to the Starlight wish-granters: “Thank you for letting me see my hero Dr Chris Slabbert. It was lovely and I had a great time – I didn’t want to come home.”

Starlight grants once-in-a-lifetime wishes for seriously and terminally ill children, restoring the magic and fun of childhood and giving the whole family happy memories to share, whatever the future holds.

To refer a child or to make a donation, simply log on to starlight.org.uk or call 020 7262 2881. For every £1 donated, more than 91p goes towards helping Starlight’s ill children.