Parts for a Mustang? Make-A-Wish Came True for Cancer Patient

Damian Petrini, 23, of San Juan Capistrano had never heard of the Make-A-Wish Foundation-- which grants wishes to children with life-threatening diseases--when the organization contacted him six years ago. He could have anything he wanted, they told the 17-year-old high school student who was battling non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“I asked, ‘What do you mean?’ ” said Petrini, who lived in Ohio at the time. “ ‘Why do you want to help?’ It blew my mind that they cared so much.”

Pressed for a wish, Petrini stumped the foundation when he requested car parts for his ’93 Ford Mustang, he told guests Saturday at the local Make-A-Wish Foundation’s benefit at the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel in Costa Mesa.

“They had regulations not to provide motorized vehicles,” he said. “But I told them I didn’t want a car, a truck or a boat, I just wanted parts to put on my car.”

The organization came through, providing Petrini with a full suspension, exhaust system and ignition system. “My car went from factory stock to a souped-up hot rod,” he said, laughing.

Tinkering with the car during his battle with cancer was a balm to his psyche, said Petrini, whose cancer has been in remission nearly five years. “When I was down, I had the car there to work on or to take on drives. It took my mind away from all of the chemotherapy I had to take.”

Petrini volunteered to speak at Saturday’s event because he strongly believes in the organization’s outreach to sick children, he said. “They make such a difference, and I hope I can make a difference by sharing my story,” he said.

Make-A-Wish information: (949) 476-9474.