At the age of 25, Sam received some staggering news. He and his wife, Lindsey, discovered they were pregnant. Unfortunately, this wonderful occasion was marred by learning that Sam had a life-threatening brain tumor. Sam and Lindsey enjoyed their new daughter all while battling his disease. Sam fought brain cancer for two years prior to seeking a second medical opinion. While doing so, they came across a brochure for Dreams of a Lifetime for Cancer Patients. Sam and Lindsey were immediately enthusiastic about the prospect of doing something special together and creating new memories to treasure. As a result Sam, Lindsey, and his doctor inquired if Dreams of a Lifetime could help with one of his lifelong dreams, seeing the lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center in New York.

27 year old Sam lived his Dream of a Lifetime by attending the 75th annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Rockefeller Center in NYC. Sam's dream was to simply attend the event; but it turned into so much more...

Sam and Lindsey flew to New York City the day before the Christmas tree lighting. On the day of the event, Sam and Lindsey went out to explore and get a sneak peak of the tree. Sam recounted, "The tree was HUGE!" As they reveled in a site Sam had only experienced in pictures and television before, they received a preview of the setup occurring for later that night. They experienced the excitement of New York City, took pictures next to all the decorations, and shopped their way through Rockefeller Center. That afternoon they enjoyed lunch overlooking the skating rink and walked down 5th Ave to Build a Bear to get their two year old daughter a souvenir from the trip. Then they headed back to the hotel to rest up for the big event. Lindsey woke Sam after a couple hours and took photos getting ready with VIP passes on! Although they got there early they took in the opportunity to stroll the Saks 5th Ave windows and listen to Natasha Beddingfield do her sound checks.

The evening came and it was finally time for the main event. Thankfully Sam and Lindsey were very close to the front of the crowd although the "seating" was standing room only. They enjoyed the introductions and Sam sat on the ground periodically to rest. The people in the VIP group soon became aware of Sam and his story after spending some time talking before the show began. As everyone was getting settled they watched Nick Lachey, Al Roker and Ashley Tisdale practice all their jokes beforehand which they thought were funny, at least prior to multiple rehearsals! A local station interviewed a few people and eventually the camera ended up pointed at Lindsey and Sam. They shared their story and explained the role Dreams of a Lifetime played in their experience! As the ceremony started the people standing near noticed how tired Sam was getting and asked the press if they could move closer. Unfortunately, the press initially said no. About 15 minutes later, as Sam was again resting on the ground they noticed a big commotion in the area. Lindsey looked up to find the head of Rockefeller security pointing to her and Sam. They soon found out they were moving up! As everyone was cheering the head of security took them into the press box. Sam and Lindsey savored the rest of the event with the press and the cameras. Celebrities shuffled by them during commercial breaks. "It was fantastic!" said Lindsey. They ended a wonderful night by ordering "official" New York pizza to share in their room while reflecting about the amazing experiences of the day.

Sam and Lindsey spent the next day enjoying New York City before they had to head home. They returned to Rockefeller to see the tree lit during the day and had lunch in the Rockefeller basement area while watching people ice skating. As the trip came to a close they walked around Broadway and bought roasted almonds from a street vendor. The romance of holding hands, exploring NYC, and eating their warm treat without once thinking about cancer will be a memory they treasure forever.

Dreams of a Lifetime would like to thank Tishman Speyer and Rockefeller Center for donating VIP passes to the Tree Lighting Ceremony and Build-A-Bear for generously donating "Rocky" for Sam to give his daughter.

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