THOUSAND OAKS : Children Make an Impression at Amgen

The tiny handprints pressed into wet cement Friday at the biomedical firm Amgen in Thousand Oaks were meant to be a reminder to employees that their medical innovations hold hope for terminally ill children.

The dozen children who planted their prints in the cement were invited by Amgen through the Make A Wish Foundation, which grants the last wishes of children with terminal or life-threatening diseases.

“I wish I could leave my prints in the Walk of Fame,” joked 15-year-old D’Andre Bims of Oxnard, who has sickle cell anemia.

D’Andre was worried that his prints looked a little too skinny among the rows of other children’s handprints.

The high school sophomore said the Make A Wish Foundation had already sent him and his family to Disney World for a week, and that the ceremony at Amgen was just one of many that he has attended in the last year.

Five-year-old Van Larimore Jr. of Ventura, who is fighting cancer, was excited about being the first to lay his prints in the cement.

After cleaning his hands in a large bucket, Van returned to stick his hands back into the cement to make another print.

“Did you see ‘em?” he asked his dad.

Van has made a comeback since receiving a bone marrow transplant earlier this year, his father said.

“He’s recovered real quick,” his father said hopefully. “He’s amazing the doctors.”

A few of the children have been treated with medicines developed by the company, said Jane Petrasek, whose 10-year-old daughter, Kristina, is suffering from a rare life-threatening blood disorder.

A drug developed by the company and waiting FDA approval might help her daughter cope with her illness, Petrasek said.

“It’s really amazing what they’re doing,” she said.

Ed Garnett, Amgen’s vice president of human resources, read from a certificate meant to dedicate the site.

“May these small handprints be given a chance to grow through the discoveries in science and medicine,” he said.