Rock-the-Wish 2022
It's hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago Kaleb, Matt and I were down to Toronto. Libby stayed at home with her Aunt Sarah and little cousin for the weekend.
We had been invited by Davide and Mary to attend the Rock-the-Wish benefit being held in Kaleb's honour. When they first invited us Kaleb was unsure if he would be able to attend as he was so worried about school workloads and energy factors. They totally understood and said that we could make the decision closer to the date.
A few weeks before the event Kaleb decided that he really wanted to go, we reached out to Mary and Davide to let them know. We were told they were so excited for us to come and that we would be special guests of theirs so to just show up. The day before the event we received an email with a special shout out to Kaleb from Phil X. (the lead guitarist for Bon Jovi) He had donated one of his Les Paul guitars signed for the online auction. Kaleb was surprised and felt so touch that he had taken time to record a message!
The day of the event we packed our overnight bags, gave instructions to Aunt Sarah and Libby and headed out. We were very much looking forward to the event but felt stressed about the hotel stay. You see for most people staying overnight in a hotel sounds fun . . . for us, it brings us back to all those months of treatments, flashes of fear and stress. Teaching ourselves that hotels no longer have to mean cancer treatments is something we are going to need to work on. Thankfully this hotel was so different from the one we stayed at in London, helping those fears and stressors that had been creeping in on the drive to lessen, so we were able to relax for a bit. The drive into the city from our hotel was longer than expected as there was so much construction and there were also emergency vehicles trying to make their way to an accident. When we arrived at the Duke we were so fortunate to find free parking close to the building. Before going in, Matt took a photo of us in front of a mural of a sax player! (for those who do not know Kaleb plays the Bari Sax, so it was quite fitting!)
When we stepped inside The Duke, we were greeted by one of the volunteers of the event. Once they found out who we were they asked us to wait there as Davide and Mary wanted to come and welcome us. Mary came over, welcomed us and brought us into the main area of the venue. All three of us were given Rock-the-Wish t-shirts and she explained bit of what was going on (auction items that were donated, where we could sit to feel comfortable while still able to enjoy the show, and to let us know that Davide would come over once he was done with sound checks). After sound checks were able to chat with Davide, Mary and their daughter Stephanie for a few minutes before they had to get ready for the start of the concert. Solo Guitars arrived at the venue with the custom guitar that Kaleb inspired and helped to design. You could see Kaleb literally vibrating with excitement to see the completed guitar! The guitar was pulled out of it's travel case and placed onto a stand at the front of the stage. But they made sure no one was able to grab a sneak peak before covering it up with a black bag so that no-one could see it before the big reveal. Before the event officially started Mary and Davide thanked all of the major sponsors for all of their support in making sure this event could happen. They also explained why this event means so much to them and why they do this annually. Then Vatche from Solo Guitars came up to the front and revealed the guitar that was being placed up for auction that night!
Matt and I had talked about the auction before going to Toronto (without Kaleb's knowledge). We were not sure if we would even come close to being able to win the custom guitar but we came up with a budget amount that we would make work. We felt that this would be such a special piece that Kaleb would not only treasure but also something he would use. You see while Kaleb was undergoing treatment he started to learn guitar and I am amazed with the skills he picked up in just a few short months. Kaleb was not playing his Bari very much ... his lungs were not ready yet to support the sax again. So the guitar musical outlet was so nice to hear especially in those times when Kaleb was struggling with energy or feeling low.
We were torn on what to do.... we didn't want to get Kaleb's hopes up. We did not want to hinder the success of the auction if someone saw us bidding on the "Firebird guitar" so Matt made sure to put his name on the bid (one advantage to having a common last name!) and we hoped that Kaleb would not notice Matt sneaking off to place his bids ... That was short lived....
The bands were all amazing!! We had such a great time singing along and meeting lots of people who had come out to support Kaleb and future children that needed their Wishes granted. Kaleb had his picture taken with so many people. Many came up to meet him and thank him for being there. (It had been mentioned that we had traveled several hours to come just for this event so everyone was excited for him being there!) One of the people we had met was a personal friend of Phil X (he personally picked up the guitar that was signed by Phil and made sure it made it safely across the border). Apparently Phil X had wanted to be there but he had other commitments that night other wise he would have been at there in person.
"Neon Nostalgic" Unplugged is a Retro Rock band that featured music from 1980-1999 that has performed around the world! At one point in their set, they played a few notes of the beginning of a song and Kaleb was able to name it and who sung it within seconds of the first note being played!!
LiFT Rock Band played music from the 70's and 80's. Their lead vocalist was unable to be there so they had a good friend fill in and man they were AMAZING! Had they not mentioned that the vocalist stepped up to help them out, you would have thought that they had always performed together! The vocalist dressed the part and had a great time interacting with the crowd. He even came by the table and dropped off some junk food for Kaleb to enjoy while the show was going on.
Kaleb loved going back to the silent auction area and checking on how all the items were doing and more so checking out the "Firebird guitar" though out the night between sets. Kaleb caught onto the fact that his dad was bidding and came back to our table with a huge smile on his face while mentioning that he saw Matt's name on the bidding sheet. We told Kaleb that we had a budget we had to stick to, that we would see what happens but no guarantees so not to get his hopes up too high as we were in a bidding war.
During a set Matt had people ask if he was Kaleb. Matt told them that he was Kaleb's dad and then pointed out Kaleb. I guess because they both have curly hair there was some confusion. lol. While Matt was up at the auction table checking on his bids, the gentleman who we were in a bidding war realized who Matt was and started to apologize for driving up the bid. Matt assured him that it was ok and not to worry about it as it was all going to a great cause!
Partway through LiFT's set they announced that the silent auction would be closed at the end of their set so if you wanted to bid on anything now was the time. There was a surge of people that went to the auction area to place their last bids on the auction items. From what we could see, there seemed to be quite a few people around the guitar so we had no clue if we would have the winning bid. Once the set finished they closed the bids and winners were announced. All of the items were announced except for the "Firebird guitar". As Kaleb was getting excited about the possibility that we won the guitar, I reminded him that we had no clue if there was a bid that came above ours last minute. Kaleb said he totally understood but he just wished that he could find out who won the guitar so that he could possibly ask to get a picture holding the guitar if they were ok with that.
As the headliner band "AEROFORCE" (a tribute band for AEROSMITH) was setting up, Davide (one of the organizers) came up on the stage and announced that they had forgot to announce the auction winner of the "Firebird guitar". He then proceeded to say that there was a bidding war that went back and forth and it came to a very close finish. Davide then announced that Matt Willson was the winning bid of $1800... Matt hearing his name stood up to go up front to receive the guitar but was asked to go back and sit down. There was a problem. Davide then proceeded to explain that the guitar should have never been a part of the auction. "How can you auction something that was never meant to be auctioned." Davide then asked Kaleb and Solo Guitars to come forward to the stage. To be 1000% honest, this is where everything becomes a blur, so I will try my best to explain the gist of it. Seeing that Matt had won the auction, they would not allow us to pay the winning bid. It was decided that they would cover our bid and gift Kaleb his guitar. We were (and still are) so blown away and touched by their kindness and love. Even now when I think of this moment I get teary eyed, seeing Kaleb hold his guitar just feels full circle. This guitar holds so much of his story and will provide him with a lifetime of musical healing every time he plays it.
After several more pictures and thank yous, we noticed that Kaleb was hitting a giant wall of fatigue. It had been a very full day, so sadly we were unable to stay for AEROFORCE. It was time to say our goodbyes and end the night before the energy crash would take over. (when this happens it takes a day or two to recover). We were able to get in a photo with Mary and Davide just as we were leaving and then we headed to the hotel.
When we arrived in our hotel room Kaleb opened up the guitar case to look at the guitar and just to make sure he was not dreaming. After talking about how amazing the night was Kaleb got ready for bed and fell right to sleep.
The next morning we were still in shock from all the love and kindness shown to our family. Then the best thing happened Kaleb still in his pyjamas half asleep in bed asked if we could bring the guitar over to him. He opened the case, picked up the guitar and proceeded to play it.
Wow! What an amazing ending for the Make A Wish/Rock A Wish Event! We are so thrilled that Kaleb was blessed with the guitar that he designed. Can't wait to hear him play it. XOXO Nana and Grandad
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