Rancho Bernardo youngster granted wish to see platypuses

By: Elizabeth Himchak, Pomerado News

When 11-year-old Ben Krueger returned to St. Michael’s School in Poway on Wednesday, he had a lot of good news to share with his fellow sixth graders.

On Tuesday morning, Ben learned he and his family will be traveling to Australia in a couple months so he can meet a platypus, courtesy of Make-A-Wish San Diego and Isagenix International.

The Rancho Bernardo boy had missed most of the previous school year due to undergoing chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a disease that this summer entered a 2 ½-year maintenance phase, according to his parents. Due to his impaired immune system — a side effect of chemo — Ben had to stay at home for most of the past 12 months.

But now that Ben is healthy, he can return to school and when he did so, he had more than just the typical kid-topics to share after an extended separation from his friends.

“It was amazing, I was overwhelmed,” Ben said about the announcement made while he was helping Gerry Katzman, owner of Hollywood’s Magic Castle, perform a magic trick at Isagenix International’s Strength in Momentum celebration in the San Diego Convention Center. “I had no idea we are actually going and my wish was granted.”

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