Dying Northern Virginia teen gives wish to benefit other kids with cancer at Inova Fairfax Hospital

A Northern Virginia teenager's dying wish is to help lighten the burdens and ease the anxieties of other young cancer patients.

The Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic has granted Timothy Bourbeau's generous wish and donated more than 20 Playstations to the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology unit at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church.

The teenager from Manassas, who suffers from a rare form of bone cancer, celebrated his wish day on Wednesday as 22 Playstation 4s were delivered to the hospital rooms.

"We are all astonished and so inspired by the fact that you could have wished to go somewhere, meet someone, have something, you could have wished to be something, but instead you chose a very unique thing which is to give your wish away and I think it's profoundly kind," Tara Wilson-Jones with Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic said before a crowd at Inova Fairfax Hospital.

Thanks to donations, Timothy's wish came true. Hospital staff invited Timothy to help set up the first of the game stations in a room where he's spent many days and nights.

"It's definitely a blessing to be able to give something back for all the things I've been given in my life. So I thank you all," Timothy said. "It helps you take your mind off of what's going on. Helps you to calm down a little bit and find a new perspective of life."

Timothy was quick to challenge his younger brother Josh to a game of basketball on the newly installed gaming systems. Timothy's mother, father and other siblings were at the hospital for the touching occasion.

"Amazing, selfless, giving, strong, courageous, tenacious and so much more," his mother Tammy Bourbeau while holding back her emotions.

"You know my faith is strong and I believe we're all put on this earth to do something great," Timothy said. "I'm fulfilling that dream because I want this to not just be a part of Inova but I want this to be part of every oncology floor all across the U.S. and that's my dream and I want to make that happen."

Tammy Bourbeau says the family is heading to Florida late Wednesday night as they prepare to say goodbye to the thoughtful teenager. It's a day his mother called bittersweet.

NewsUs Va