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| Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins and Katie Vandrilla (Make-A-Wish recipient). Photo by Peter Mountain |
By Katherine Vandrilla
As a teenager I was diagnosed with leukemia, a blood cancer, and was told that I qualified for a wish. I knew instantaneously what I’d choose: to meet Johnny Depp. If you know one thing about me, it’s that Johnny Depp is a huge part of my life. I discovered him at the age of 12, and have never looked back.
In the beginning, he was my favorite actor and the reason for my dream of acting. When I got sick, he became so much more than that. He gave me something to look forward to. I had to meet the man who had brought so much joy to my life.
Mid-September of 2011, after four years, my family told me that Make-A-Wish had called and we were being sent to London to meet the man of my dreams. Within a few hours my parents, brother and I were half across the world.
The whole experience was surreal. A limo picked us up at our hotel and we were taken to Pinewood Studios where Johnny was filming Dark Shadows, a movie based on the TV show of the same name. In the film he plays Barnabas Collins, a man who was cursed by a witch to spend eternity as a vampire. He was then buried for 200 years until he is accidentally unearthed in the year 1972.
At the studio we were shown props from the movie by the man who created them—and someone whose work I’ve admired—David Balfour. We also had the opportunity to watch them filming next door via a monitor. Then came the big moment. The moment I had been waiting for eight years. It was time to meet Johnny. But it wasn’t only him; Tim Burton, the director of the film and my favorite one at that, was also with him.
No words could ever describe how meeting them felt. To be in the same room as the man of my dreams was unbelievable. It was magical and utterly perfect—much more than I had ever dreamed it would be. There were a couple other Make-A-Wish children, and we were able to speak with Johnny and Tim for a while. We also had some one-on-one time with each of them.
I have never been as happy as I was on that day. I spoke with Johnny about acting, and told him how much he has meant to me. It is an experience I will never forget, and has given me precious memories for a lifetime.
After the day of my wish, my family had a few days to explore the City of London, with just enough time for me to fall helplessly in love with it. The foundation also sent us to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, as well as took care of all of our expenses.
After our walk among the stars, it was time to return to real life. I can never say enough good things about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, or Dark Shadows. It was the happiest week of my life, and I am so glad my family was able to share it with me.
Dark Shadows comes to DVD on Oct. 2. For more information on the Make-A-Wish Foundation, visit http://www.wish.org/."
This is a clip of an interview I found about the Wish: (not the best quality, but oh well!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNZ15_2kZeM
It was originally found here (but I think the link is not active anymore; sorry!)
http://www.ctnow.com/videogallery/71915507/News/One-Girl's-Wish-To-Meet-Johnny-Depp-Comes-True
The original story was taken from here: (the link is no longer active; sorry!)
http://www.myrecordjournal.com/berlincitizen/article_efaf12e0-ead1-11e1-aae5-0019bb2963f4.html#.UDKRo7USxRs.blogger
And an update about Katie can be found on the Make-A-Wish website:
http://wish.org/wishes/wish-nation-blog/2015/august/from-wish-kid-to-wish-granter#sm.0000rrtn451ahbefwwsmyembbvp1w
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