Braxtyn Buddies up with Batman
10-year-old Braxtyn (Brax) may be shy, but he sure wasn’t afraid to help his favourite superhero catch the bad guys!
Holy Smokes, Braxtyn!
“Obsessed.” This is how Kirri, Brax’s mum, describes how Brax feels about Batman. So it was no surprise that his wish was to help The Dark Knight save the day.
In the lead-up to his wish, Brax was super excited and told everyone, including his mates at school and the nurses at the hospital, that he and Batman were going to meet soon.
“He’s been asking me so many questions, like on the way to school he would ask ‘Mum, if we got stuck in traffic, would Batman come and save us? Because he’s like my best friend and all.’”
Because Brax loves art so much, Batman asked him to help guard Gotham’s most valuable painting, ‘The Bette Fleur’. But when it went missing, Brax (and his brother, Dre) leaped into action; following clues to catch the sneaky thief!
Brotherly Heroes
Brax and his older brother, Dre (who had his wish realised a few years ago), both live with Hunter syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. But even before they were both diagnosed, they were each other’s sidekick.
“They get the treatment in the same room. They can never be apart. When they are apart, they just want to be back together again. Sometimes one will say ‘I can’t do treatment today’ and the other will support him and say ‘OK, let’s do this! Let’s just get it over and done with so we can go home.’”
In the lead up to the wish, Brax was going to school and telling all his friends he was going to meet Batman. He didn't sleep at all the night before, and woke up at 6:30am the day of the wish and looked outside and said 'I think I can see Batman's car!
Kirri, Braxtyn's Mum
Brax Saves the Day
Working as a team, Brax, Dre, and Batman followed the clues left by the thief. Together they rescued staff who had been captured, recovered the stolen artwork, and put the bad guy into police custody.
Brax received a medal for helping Batman and ended the day by taking some photos in the Batmobile.
Kirri says that Brax is usually quite reserved around new people. “I thought he would be really shy, but he’s just been so open and just awesome with it. He really wants to help Batman.”
The Superpower of a Wish
Every Superhero has an origin story. Brax has always been a remarkable little boy, but it was his wish that unmasked his rarely seen persona.
Kirri says that Brax is usually quite reserved around new people. “I thought he would be really shy, but he’s just been so open and just awesome with it. He really wants to help Batman.”
Brax showed a wide-range of emotions during his crime-fighting wish, which brought Kirri to tears.
“We don’t see Braxtyn smile often, as we’re always in the hospital... his reaction was just surprise, excitement, happy, everything all wrapped up in one.”
Because of their disability, both Brax and Dre have had to miss out on a lot of “normal” childhood activities like contact sports. They’ve even endured some bullying. But Kirri says that Brax’s wish has allowed their family to live more presently, and that it was the brother’s smiles that was the biggest reward.
It’s just the best feeling ever. Whenever I have a bad day, especially when we’ve been at the hospital, I look back on the good times that we’ve had. And this one is definitely going to be a good time.
Kirri, Braxtyn's Mum
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