Making a Wish
It was hard to fight back tears as I fished with 13-year-old Tim Idleman; but I was fulfilling his wish. Tim is sick and suffers from a very serious disease called Fibrous Dysplasia. He has undergone many surgeries and is scheduled for another surgery in January. His head has large scars where they have removed the top of his skull and his motor skills are affected. He goes to a school for the blind but he sees the world as a beautiful place.
The Children’s Wish Foundation (CWF) recently granted Tim’s wish to come to Texas to go bass fishing with me. I selected the 777 Ranch located outside Hondo because I knew Tim would have a wonderful time besides catching lots of fish. Joining us on this trip were his parents and two younger brothers ages 5 and 7. Tim’s mother Kim told me a “wish” is when the entire family goes some place together. Tim’s illness has affected everyone in their family in many ways and this time away would hopefully help get their minds off their troubles.
The 777 Ranch has some of the countries best catch and release bass fishing. It is now under new ownership and I was excited that they agreed to host us.
Fishing was great and everyone caught more fish than they had ever caught before (even the 5 year old). Tim was fully independent and caught over 30 fish by 10:30 am. I chose to take them off the hook and release them. But Tim insisted on kissing each one. We joked and got better acquainted. Tim told me that he loves to hunt too. But the CWF dos not grant hunting type wishes. I passed that on to Jeff Rann, one of the owners of the 777 Ranch and he smiled and said, “You fulfill Tim’s wish to fish while I surprise him with a hunt.”
Following the fishing, Tim went to the firing range with Jeff and displayed remarkable accuracy at 100 yards. I was shocked. Tim smiled and said “I am only visually impaired, not blind.” I thought what a great attitude that was.
After many unsuccessful stalks Tim finally made a perfect shot and downed a Texas dall sheep. We captured the entire trip on video for an upcoming show.
Tim can teach us all how to get a better perspective on life. He is strong, brave and more mature than I could have imagined. Tim’s enthusiasm and his outlook on life encourage everyone around him.
Tim also emotionally touched Rann. I thought of how a tough guy like Jeff can be moved by a tough kid like Tim. Rann who also owns and operates one of Africa’s largest hunting operations said, “The 777 Ranch is an old ranch, but with the new ownership we have given it a new heart.”