Batkid cancer-free, doing 'amazing' 10 years after wish captivates San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO – He was young. He was brave. And he wasn't even a billionaire like Bruce Wayne.
It was 10 years ago on Wednesday when a child battling cancer transformed into the superhero Batkid and saved the city of San Francisco from the villains of Gotham, transfixing the nation and fulfilling the wish of Miles Scott, who is now 15 years old and living cancer-free.
The city lent fire and police resources to the experience, and thousands of participants turned out to make the wish complete with a cheering public crowd rooting on Miles, his little brother Clayton dressed as Robin, and Batman in a quest to thwart the Riddler in downtown San Francisco.
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area saw a notable increase in requests for wishes for other children after the public display of support for Miles, according to the organization.
"To this day, Miles' wish resonates in our collective consciousness as proof of the power of one child's wish to transform an entire community and bring hope and joy that lasts a lifetime," said Betsy Biern, CEO of Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area.
"Additionally, Make-A-Wish saw a marked increase in referrals following this wish, meaning more children with critical illnesses received life-changing wishes thanks to Batkid. And that's truly heroic!" Biern said.
The 2013 event was captured in a full-length documentary called "Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World." Batkid was given the key to the city after he fought criminals, captured the Riddler, and saved San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal. Miles was recognized for his heroism at the time by then-President Barack Obama in an online message and the San Francisco Chronicle produced a special edition with a front page set in the Batkidverse.
As part of the 10-year-anniversary of the event, Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area shared an update on Miles, who now lives in a small town near the Oregon border with his family.
He plays high school football and enjoys driving the tractor on his family farm. He has been in remission for the past decade and sees an oncologist once a year to maintain his health.
"I'm doing amazing. I would love to just say like 'yeah, I'm fine,'" Miles said in a statement.
He had no way of knowing how many people would be willing to support his wish that day.
"I feel normal, but every time I think about it, it's like, 'Wow, that actually happened,'" he said.
His mother, Natalie Scott, is now a volunteer with Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area and helps fulfill wishes for children in Siskiyou County.
"For Miles' wish, I feel like it was the ending of a chapter in our family, so that we could move on and continue," said Scott in a statement. "I just wanted to be able to help other kids and their families have some sort of positive ending to their story or to start their new beginning."
And Batkid lives on—Miles' younger brother Ben donned the outfit for Halloween last year.
