Ice Skaters Help Make Kids’ Wishes Come True

Five Olympic gold medal skaters took the ice Tuesday, but there were no triple toe loops or double axels in sight.

Instead, the 30-minute skating session at a Burbank rink was intended to make some children happy.

The event was part of a special day set aside for the children of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America by members of the Discover Stars on Ice tour.

The foundation is dedicated to granting wishes to children with a life-threatening illness.

A portion of the receipts from the ice show’s ticket sales are donated to the local Make-A-Wish chapter in each of the tour’s 62 cities.

For one young woman, the session at Pickwick Ice Arena marked the granting of her wish to meet Scott Hamilton.

For eight other children, it was a chance for some fun far away from the hospitals they frequent. In fact, many of the kids did not even know who ice champions Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Tara Lipinski and Ilia Kulik were.

Jessica Jung, 8, smiled and flashed a peace sign as she posed for a picture with Hamilton. Minutes earlier, 1992 gold medalist Yamaguchi took her hand as they skated together. But when asked who they were, the third-grader replied, “I don’t know much about them.”

Her parents knew, and they appreciated the event. Her father, Charlie Jung of Glendale, said Jessica was diagnosed last year with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, and had to have her left arm amputated in February. “She has a lot of spirit,” he said.

The skaters said the children’s spirit is inspiring. “They probably do more for us than we do for them,” Yamaguchi said.

But that inspiration is not just one-sided, according to Jenny McCormack, who flew with her family from Everett, Wash., to fulfill her dream of meeting Hamilton. Battling cancer, the 15-year-old said she admires him not only for his skating talent, but also for his courage in overcoming cancer.

The Make-A-Wish event is “a gift that we get to give,” said Hamilton, who is beginning his second year cancer-free.