Ten-year-old Dan Therriault’s wish came true early Friday when a brand new pool was installed in his family’s backyard in Bristol.
“It’s just like ‘Yes!’,” Dan said as teams from Make-A-Wish Connecticut and Paradis Pools showed up to install the pool.
The fifth grader is upbeat, with a humor that belies his age, but it’s been a tough year for him. In February, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer.
Ever since, he’s spent his time in and out of the hospital, undergoing chemotherapy and surgery and missing school in the process.
“He got diagnosed. Everything turned upside down. Nothing else matters,” Dan’s father, Howie Therriault, said.
The pool was made possible thanks to the generosity of Paradis Pools, of Plainville, and others who donated the material and manpower necessary to build the pool, which is expected to be competed in less than a day.
“When I heard his wish was a pool, I’m like ‘OK, I can do something about that’,” said Vic Paradis, of Paradis Pools.
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Dan cannot swim now as he recovers from his recent surgery, but his family hopes to have a big celebration in their new pool once he heals.
“The rule is, nobody goes in the pool until Dan does, at which point we’re hoping to invite friends and family and Make A Wish people and just throw a pool party,” Dan’s father said.
Howie Therriault said doctors believe Dan’s prognosis is good and he will survive his cancer, but he still has a long road ahead that includes nearly a dozen rounds of chemotherapy and other treatments.
As crews built the new pool Friday, Dan somehow managed to lighten the moment.
“The long and short of it --it sucks,” he said. “But there’s also a good thing to it. I got a lot of presents.”
