A 12-year-old southwest Florida boy may seem a bit young for a man cave, but that's what he wanted and that's just what he got this week thanks to Make-A-Wish.
A blindfolded Luke McCann, who was born with severe hemophilia B, was surrounded by his teenage friends and family members Friday as he stepped into his backyard and saw his new man cave, which was in the shape of a lighthouse at his request. One friend reminded him not to curse because the unveiling was being broadcast live on local television.
"Holy cow," McCann said upon seeing the man cave.
NBC 2 in Fort Myers reports that McCann's wish was the 10,000th wish granted by Make-A-Wish Southern Florida. McCann's rare genetic disorder causes him to bleed longer because he lacks sufficient clotting proteins. Deep, internal bleeding can be fatal.
At least twice a week, he injects himself with a synthetic clotting factor lacking in his blood. His parents are cautious. He can't rough-house or play football with his friends. The seventh-grader plays is obsessed with basketball. He plays almost daily, or at the very least dribbles in the house or watches it on TV.
A few years ago, doctors told his parents that Luke should give up basketball once it became too competitive and his mother worries that might be coming soon. She said the lighthouse represents hope.
The $11,000 14-foot lighthouse was built by McCann's father, according to the Fort Myers News-Press.
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"I'm now living in there for the rest of my life, until I move out," said McCann after climbing to the top floor. "And then, I don't know, I might get a slightly bigger lighthouse when I'm older."
