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Question: What ever happened to Kauai cancer victim Travis Fernandez, who was offered whatever he wanted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation? Cancer patient lives to
see wish fulfilledBy Anthony Sommer
tsommer@starbulletin.comAnswer: Yesterday, he got his wish. It wasn't for himself. And the best part was he was there to see it.
A new high-jump pit at Vidinha Stadium, which will be used by the track teams of all three Kauai high schools, was dedicated in Lihue. That was what Fernandez asked for.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation, which provides one-in-a-lifetime experiences to youngsters with life-threatening diseases, paid $10,000 of the cost.
Fernandez, 20, of Kalaheo, Kauai, was one of six students given a $1,000 scholarship in 2000 by the Star-Bulletin for overcoming seemingly overwhelming adversity to graduate from high school.
He was on the honor roll every semester for four straight years at Waimea High School and a member of the National Honor Society. He was elected to the Kauai District School Council for three consecutive years. And he lettered in football, basketball and track, playing linebacker on the varsity football team as a sophomore.
Halfway through his junior year -- right after the football season ended and the basketball season was about to begin, as he put it -- a cancerous tumor was discovered in his chest. Doctors decided his only hope was a bone marrow transplant.
His youngest brother, A.C., then 8, was the donor. A.C. was at yesterday's ceremony, as was middle brother Tyson, 16, who was competing for Waimea High School in the meet that followed the dedication.
Fernandez missed almost his entire senior year while undergoing chemotherapy and radiology treatments, but he graduated on time with the help of tutors. At the time of commencement, Fernandez's cancer was in remission.
When Make-A-Wish Foundation asked Fernandez what it could give him, he said he wanted a track facility for all Kauai high school athletes. The high-jump pit, part of a major upgrade of Vidinha Stadium facilities, was the result.
Fernandez now lives on Oahu and attends Kapiolani Community College studying to be a radiology technician. And he is playing sports again.
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