A 12-year-old Alberta boy battling cystic fibrosis is over the moon after meeting his space hero, former U.S. astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
Ethan Jogola, 12, got to spend time with the Apollo 11 astronaut when the Make-A-Wish Foundation sent the Mayerthorpe boy and his family to Florida last month. There, he had the opportunity to tour the Kennedy Space Center’s visitor complex and meet crew members from NASA.
It was a dream come true for the self-proclaimed space addict.
“The first time I saw the moon, I just wanted to see more and learn more about it,” Ethan told CTV Edmonton.
Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was a baby, Ethan relies on daily medication and special therapy. Through it all, he has had one dream: to one day travel to space.
The highlight of the Florida trip, he said, was meeting Buzz Aldrin.
“He had so many stories,” Ethan said. “You’d ask him a question, and he answers them, and tells 10 more stories.”
Aldrin told Ethan about his experiences during the Apollo 11 mission, when he became the second human to ever step foot on the moon.
Ethan said Aldrin described using his spacesuit’s urine collection system during the famed 1969 lunar walk.
“He said, ‘well, Neil (Armstrong) may have been the first guy to step foot on the moon, but I was the first guy to pee my pants on the moon,’” Ethan recalled with a laugh.
Ethan also accompanied Aldrin to a screening for the movie “The Martian,” where the Jogola family got to meet some of the cast.
“I sat next to (Aldrin) and that was awesome,” Ethan said.
And the young boy didn’t come home empty-handed. Among other gifts, he received a book signed by Aldrin.
Ethan’s mother Shelley Jogola said the trip was like watching a dream “come to life.”
“Watching your child get to experience that -- there’s not really words to describe it.”
