Albany grants a wish

Albany played host to one very special little boy and his family on the adventure of a lifetime last week, thanks to the Make A Wish Foundation.

Adelaide boy Ethyn Yates, 6, has a genetic terminal illness called Adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare condition where the myelin sheath covering the nerve fibres in his brain slowly break down, causing progressive brain damage.

He relies on four cortisone tablets a day, a strict low-fat diet and a syrup called Lorenzo’s Oil to keep him healthy, but such is the toll of the condition, he might not make it to his 10th birthday.

Ethyn’s father, Jason Yates, said the family was shattered when they received their precious boy’s diagnosis when he was 18 months old. “You wouldn’t know it to look at him, he’s a normal little six-year-old boy,” Mr Yates said.

When the Make A Wish Foundation approached the Yates to grant Ethyn a wish, of all the places in the world he could have “wished” to visit, he chose Albany, where Mr Yates grew up.

They will be joined by Mr Yates’ childhood mate Adrian Hallows for a week of fishing, riding in a hot rod, boating and four-wheel-drive adventures.

After arriving on Sunday, Ethyn said he was really excited to finally be in Albany for his big adventure and wanted to help his little sister Charlee “catch a pink fish” while he was here. Ethyn’s mother, Stacey Yates said she was enormously proud of her son’s decision. “He didn’t want to go to Disneyland, he just wanted to go four-wheel-driving and fishing,” she said.

“No materialistic crap, it’s so simple, I hope he remembers this for the rest of his life.”

Mr Yates said he appreciated everything the Make A Wish Foundation had done for Ethyn.

The family hopes sharing Ethyn’s story will help spread awareness about his condition, which affects one in 20,000 people.

katherine.mountain@albanyadvertiser.com