Thomas' Inspiring Speech
Thomas is a huge AFL fan and his wish was to give his favourite team, the Melbourne Football Club - AKA the Dees - a motivational speech during the AFL season.
Please note: this wish requires approval before sharing - please contact marketing@makeawish.org.au if you would like to post Thomas' wish story on your local Facebook page.
Thomas' health journey
Being the incredibly compassionate 21-year-old he is, Thomas started his love for motivational speaking off the back of a school trip to East Timor where he stood in front of the group and shared his story. He loved the feeling of both empowering himself and encouraging others by sharing his health journey.
Diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2016, Thomas underwent two brain operations followed by six weeks of radiotherapy treatment to remove it. Now in recovery, Thomas has a new lease on life and a desire to inspire others.
Wish capture
During his Wish Capture, Thomas shared his interest and passion for motivational speaking. He also spoke of his passion for the Melbourne Football Club and how he'd love to give the team a motivational speech.
Thomas prepared for his wish with the help of a very special mentor – none other than our National Patron, Hobart branch volunteer and professional speaker, Robyn Moore.
Wish anticipation
As part of his wish anticipation, Robyn organised numerous coaching sessions with Tom. She generously shared her tricks of the trade and imparted her wisdom on how to engage an audience and get the most cut-through.
There were a few practice sessions including the Isagenix Conference and Sean Bell’s Run for Wishes finale event.
In fact, some of you may even remember Robyn and Tom speaking at our National Volunteer Conference in 2019, where Tom had the audience in stitches and was a roaring success!
Wish day at last
Finally, the big day arrived! It all started with Thomas providing words of encouragement to his beloved Melbourne Football Club during their Monday Weekly Wrap where the team reviewed the prior weekend's game and planned for the upcoming match.
Adriana from the Melbourne Branch was there with Thomas, and gave highlights of the first day:
“I was so lucky to drive Thomas and his family to the wish, he was so nervous on the way in, but so excited that this day had arrived. I can’t remember how many times Thomas said “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Joy all round
"Thomas’ mum and dad were completely overwhelmed with joy seeing Thomas deliver his speech to the Melbourne Football Club, they are passionate about the mighty Dees which was pretty obvious. Christian Petracca (legend) giving Thomas the signed jumper and sharing his take-outs from the speech was so generous," Adriana continued.
"The entire staff and team cheered Thomas on, making him feel part of the inner sanctum which was just the icing on the cake, absolute superstars in my eyes. I loved the connection between Thomas and Simon Goodwin, Simon had such a great sense of humour about it all.
"Wishes bring hope and joy to kids, and today – the joy that the Melbourne Footy Club gave to Thomas was something he will never forget. His mum shared a quiet word with me on the way home:
“Thomas will remember this day for the rest of his life.”
Surprise moment
Then on game day, Thomas visited the MCG to watch the almighty Dees win over the Hawks and sat with the reserves side and the family of the players. He couldn’t believe it – he thought his seats were the best in the house!
After the game, Thomas made his way down to the rooms with his dad to cheer on the team as they came off the ground and watched them belt out the club anthem. Then it happened...
In a surprise moment, as the team was ushered into a room for the match review, Thomas was asked to join the coaching staff and players for the game wrap-up! As Thomas walked into the room, Head Coach Simon Goodwin said to him ‘We did it! We're going to review the game together.’ In an unbelievable moment for Thomas, he gave his review of the game and was then asked to present the Best Player of the Week Award to Alex Neal-Bullen.
In his acceptance speech, Alex told Thomas and the team that it was because of Thomas’ motivational speech on Monday that he won the award. Amazing!
Wish granted!
Thomas had photos taken with every player, and his family were the last to leave the ground. They weren’t cutting this day short, no way!
After an incredible wish journey, Thomas had these final words for the Make-A-Wish community:
‘Thank you, Make-A-Wish, nothing else can happen in my life that will be better than this!’
For everyone in the Wish Force, there are no better words to hear.
A very special thank you to Robyn Moore and the Melbourne branch volunteers who’ve been part of Thomas’ wish journey, including Team Leader Adriana Vlamis.
