Tim Tebow meets with sick Virginia teen, Haley Burke, makes a wish come true
A Virginia teen battling Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, an inherited connective tissue disorder, had her dream come true when she got to meet former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow.
Haley Burke, 15, went on a wild ride with her family, who were all flown to Scottsdale, Arizona where they stayed in the presidential suite of the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort. Burke and family received a day at a spa, an aerial tour of the Grand Canyon with Haley in the co-pilot seat and she threw out the first pitch at an Arizona Diamondbacks game.
The Tim Tebow foundation went above and beyond the girl’s request to meet the former Florida Gator superstar, who met with Haley during a training session before having dinner with the entire family.
“They’re amazing,” Tebow, 27, tells PEOPLE. “The entire time I was with them, I was so inspired by their strength and courage in facing every day and every struggle with a positive attitude.”
Burke was a recipient of the Tim Tebow Foundation W15H program. “Wish,” with the “15” in the middle being an obvious tribute to Tebow’s jersey number. The program provides once-in-a-lifetime experiences to children and teens facing life-threatening illnesses.
“The W15H program allows me to keep a great perspective on life,” Tebow said in the People article. “I always begin the wish hoping to have a positive impact on these children, but every time, I’m the one who has been impacted the most.”
The Tim Tebow Foundation has an adoption aid program, builds “Timmy’s Playrooms” in children’s hospitals around the world, and has built a five-story hospital in Davao City, Philippines.
“Other than my faith and family, my foundation is the most important thing in my life,” says Tebow, a devout Christian. “It allows me to keep so many things in perspective, and it gives me the opportunity to bring people together to invest in the lives of children all around the world.”
Tebow is no longer active in the NFL, working as a college football analyst.
Check out the full People article HERE