Last November, Henry Wat had an opportunity to visit Hoag Performance Center after he submitted a writing assignment in school describing his best day ever which was a hypothetical 75-0 Los Angeles Chargers victory.
But over the weekend, Wat, who suffers from Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy, truly had his "best day ever."
It was then that the Chargers and Make-A-Wish Foundation made his dream of meeting Bolts legend and Hall of Fame quarterback, Dan Fouts, and watching him call a Chargers game come true.
"It's everything that I could have wished for my kid that (we) couldn't provide for him ourselves," Kristin Wat, Henry's mom said. "We try and make our kids' wishes happen to the best of our ability, but an event like today, and Monday's practice, and all of the warm invitations and friendships that have come from the Chargers and Make-A-Wish are things I never could have provided for my own kid. I'm just over the moon with excitement for him."
"It was special for me and surprising, too," Fouts said. "The family support he has and the Make-A-Wish Foundation (is great). My hat's off to the Chargers for making it all happen. It was a win-win situation for everyone. I hope he had a good time and I think he did."
On Monday, Henry and his family were invited to the team's night practice of training camp. It was there that Philip Rivers surprised Wat with a custom jersey and tickets to Sunday's game.
"Just to see him smile so much and enjoy himself in this environment, he's so comfortable and really takes the Chargers so personally," Kristin mentioned. "He really gets emotionally involved when the game starts."
Kristin said Henry's love for the Chargers stemmed from playing Madden with his brothers. As Irvine residents, the Bolts are always on television in-season, but playing Madden, and selecting the Chargers as his team, allowed Henry to truly learn the intricacies of the game from the players to positions to plays.
From there, he's become the family's football pundit, keeping a keen eye and knowledge of what the Chargers do on the field in real life.
"He can't tell me what we got him for Christmas, but he can tell me what plays were made during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs and who scored the two-point conversion," Kristin recalled.
But as much as he knows about the current team, Henry also knows about Chargers legends like Fouts. His wish surprised his parents – they didn't know he knew of the Hall of Famer!
After enjoying pregame views from the field with his family and meeting players like Joey Bosa, the Wats went up to the broadcast booth. Fouts then surprised Henry with a gift bag, which included a figurine of himself, a hat from the Pro Football Hall of Fame amongst other items, and even season tickets to watch the Bolts in 2019.
While the whole day, and even week, was emotional, it was a truly unforgettable experience for not only Henry, but his family as well.
"He deserves it," she continued. "He's a really sweet, quiet kid who doesn't ask for these things. He doesn't particularly like the attention, but he's loving this."
