Sarah Meets Wayne Gretzky - And A Lifelong Dream Is Fulfilled
In 1964, when she was just 16 years old, Sarah Gartshore told her father that one day she would meet the NHL Hall of Famer and ask him to sign a hockey stick from his days as a professional player.
Forty-one years later, in 2009, Sarah had the pleasure of meeting Wayne Gretzky in person and asking him to sign a hockey stick from his days as a professional player. But instead of getting an autograph on a stick like he asked for, what happened next completely blew her mind.
"Just to note, Wayne Gretzky asked first and foremost, 'Are you sure you want this?' And I was like, 'Yes. That's why I'm here,'" Sarah told Fox News host Sean Hannity during an interview from her home in Lompoc, California Wednesday night. "He opened the envelope and it was a letter from him. He wanted me to read it out loud and see if I needed any help or had any questions."
Sarah said as she read the letter out loud, she noticed some signature errors in Gretzky's signature.
"It was a beautiful thing," she said. "It was signed by him in his hand. And it was a note and he apologized for opening it at the show. He said, 'I wasn't planning on opening it at this moment. But I'm glad that I did.'"
Sarah told Fox News Gretzky's wife, Janet, was also in attendance at the event where she met the legendary NHL center. In fact, she was one of the first people to approach Sarah after the meeting with Gretzky unfolded.
"She said to me, 'That letter is beautiful. I've been married a long time and seen a lot of things but my heart melted when I saw you starting to cry,'" Sarah said. "And that meant so much because [Wayne] said some very sweet things in there. It was very personal. "He said, 'You've made my life better.'"
Sarah told Fox News she had been living with a debilitating nerve disease that affected her mobility. She also developed cancer in both of her lungs.
But after meeting Gretzky, she said both conditions have improved and she is now cancer-free. Less than a year ago, Sarah underwent a double lung transplant and said the only way she could get through it was because Wayne helped her think positively throughout the entire process.
"I'm living proof that strong minds can overcome any obstacles," Sarah wrote on Facebook in November when sharing how she felt about the day of meeting Gretzky. "There are so many people who are far more tougher than me, with far greater obstacles. And I know my story will inspire them. I was at the darkest place of my life 4 months ago and today I'm in remission from both cancer and the lung disease that has held me back for years."
Fox News: Sarah Meets Wayne Gretzky - And A Lifelong Dream Is Fulfilled (I just have to say, can't believe she got that up to me within 6 hours of us meeting her!) @seanhannity pic.twitter.com/mzm6nPOCfn — Sarah Gartshore (@sarah_gartshore) May 10, 2018
Fox News host Sean Hannity shared Sarah's story on his show Wednesday night and said he believes the veteran hockey fan deserves to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
"She's getting better, she went through a double lung transplant," he said. "And I'm just so happy from that heartwarming story that I'm going to start a campaign on your behalf. I think you should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame for that."
Sarah wrote about her journey on Facebook, saying she had been "living with a debilitating nerve disease affecting my mobility for years. I also developed cancer in both of my lungs and was told that I could die within a year."
But she said Gretzky helped her think positively through the entire transplant process.
"I'm living proof that strong minds can overcome any obstacle," Sarah wrote. "There are so many people who are far more tougher than me with far greater obstacles. And I know my story will inspire them!"
Sarah Gartshore, meeting Wayne Gretzky for the first time, August 29 2017, Edmonton Exhibit Centre (Photo credit: GoodSports Photography)#SarahMeetsWayne #GGW #WaynesLastStand #NHL100 @foxnews pic.twitter.com/5g6itIYaqt — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 10, 2018
"And that's what happened to me," she said. "There are no words to describe any of this. They all need to be heard, and I'm just so thankful that that's what happened to me."
Fox News: Sarah Meets Wayne Gretzky - And A Lifelong Dream Is Fulfilled (Just want share how our meeting went down around 6 hours after meeting her, in order for us all to be moved by it!) #SarahMeetsWayne #GGW #WaynesLastStand @seanhannity pic.twitter.com/0ok88OI7Vu — Sarah Gartshore (@sarah_gartshore) May 10, 2018
Sarah said Gretzky was a pleasure to meet and told Fox News she's thankful for the experience.
"He signed my stick and it will always be treasured," she said. "He was so kind."
Click here for more from Sarah's Facebook page . To contact Sarah, you can email her at sarahgartshore@yahoo.com . The GoFundMe fundraiser is located here .
Click here to read Wayne Gretzky's letter to Sarah.
Click here to read more of Sarah's Facebook post. To contact Sarah you can email her at sarahgartshore@yahoo.com . The GoFundMe fundraiser is located here .
"I'm just so thankful that that's what happened to me," she said. "And he believed in me."
Sarah Gartshore, meeting Wayne Gretzky for the first time, August 29 2017, Edmonton Exhibit Centre (Photo credit: GoodSports Photography)#SarahMeetsWayne #GGW #WaynesLastStand #NHL100 @foxnews pic.twitter.
Conclusion
I believe we all have something in us. Maybe it's a dream we haven't fulfilled yet. Maybe it's a dream that hasn't even been realized yet. Maybe it's just a belief, or maybe it's an entire belief system. But something inside of us, some place deep within our hearts, when you think about that person who had that experience with that person and you know in your heart if you meet them what will happen? Will they be nice to you? Will they be mean to you? Will this go very well or will not go well?
I believe the answer is yes and I believe we all should ask those questions of ourselves. Because this life is short and so are the experiences we have.