(A/N: The following chapter contains moments that are too sweet and emotional, potentially making some readers cry. Viewer discretion is advised.)
~With Kairi~
The WWE called me to grant a wish to a 7 year old girl with cancer who wanted to meet me before Raw. How can I not decline? I love kids and I want to be a role model.
When Peter and I got there, I went first because I wanted him to be in the back before I bring him out. They gave me a bag of merchandise with a replica of my pirate hat.
When I walked into the room, she lit up with joy.
Girl: Kairi!
Me: Hi!
She ran up and hugged so tight, I had to give it back. I was almost in tears because of how special it was to make this girl's day.
Me: How are you?
Girl: I'm good.
Me: That's good.
When her parents told me she was diagnosed with cancer, it broke my heart. Her father told me that she was a WWE fan and looked up to me.
Me: What's her name?
Father: Gabrielle.
Me: Gabrielle. That's a beautiful name.
Gabrielle: Thank-you.
I hugged her again with a huge smile on my face as she had one too.
I showed her the tee shirt and signed it for her. I gave her as much of my WWE merchandise. I was giving her as much love as I can possibly can to show my support in her fight against her cancer. I had to ask a question that was personal, but I wanted to know.
Me: You know how much time she has to live? I mean, something like this is very personal to me.
The mother was about to break down but I had to turn my attention from Gabrielle to the mother. I hugged her to give her time to speak.
Mother: We learned from the doctor that she has until the end of April.
Almost on cue, I hear someone's voice.
?????: Your tickets are on me, friends.
All of us: Huh?
~With Peter~
Hearing that made me cry. I had to come in. I walked in with a tear in my eye and a smile.
Gabrielle: PETER!
I kneeled down to have her hug me.
Me: Seriously, the tickets for Wrestlemania are on me. I'll try to give you the best seats imaginable.
The mother and father were surprised to see me and actually hugged me as well. I had to give back. This is something that is serious. Cancer is serious, and to hear that Gabrielle has two more months to live is heartbreaking. I had to step in, even though Kairi wanted me to come in at her time.
Me: Come on, I'm not stealing your spotlight Kairi, you can still be a part of this.
Kairi: Okay!
She hugged her wish kid again and we took a picture that I wanted the photographers to send me. They did after the meet and greet. Kairi was a bit mad that I took the spotlight from her, but she quickly forgave me for it.
That was so emotional for me that I ended up crying after meeting Gabrielle. To have these kids with these life threatening situations wanting to meet their favorite wrestlers is the biggest honor we have.
I feel it's our duties as celebrities to put a smile on people's faces. I mean, Gabrielle was the cutest thing I've ever met, and granting the wish with my girlfriend is probably the best thing ever.
Not only that, it was the first wish I granted, and that makes it all the more personal to me. I'm tearing up just by thinking about that. I have to give this the Highlight of The Night award, because knowing that kid will not live through the end of April is heartbreaking and I had to give some tickets away for this year's Wrestlemania.
Later on after the wish granting, I called Hunter to order three tickets for the very front row. When I told him it was for a make a wish kid and her parents, he said I was allowed and I bought them immediately.
When I got back with them, they were thanking me and I had to thank them back for making my night. They really did make my night.
I posted the picture of Kairi and I with Gabrielle on Twitter and I posted it with the caption:
@IAmPeterR
"Granted my first wish, and I'm looking to grant more #MakeAWish #BeARoleModel @KairiSaneWWE"
That post exploded with lots of love, saying how sweet we were to do something like this.
You know, I don't care about money, I don't care about fame, and I don't care about championships. I only care about putting my body on the line and giving the fans what they want: entertainment. That's it. That's all it is, I mean if that doesn't matter, I don't know what does.