Nineteen-year-old Alex Harris and his family were headed to New Orleans early Thursday morning.
The trip didn't cost the UNC Wilmington student any money, but there was definitely a price to pay.
"The week before spring break my senior year, I was diagnosed with sarcoma, which is a form of bone cancer," said Alex.
The Wake Forest native did eight months of intense and draining treatment, but then received a welcome phone call.
"About halfway through, through Duke, I was contacted by Make-A-Wish and asked what I wanted, and the Super Bowl was really the only option for me. That's the only thing I really wanted and cared about because football is my passion, and now I'm here," said Alex.
His parents went from thinking he was going to die to knowing he would be okay, and then anxiously awaited their trip to New Orleans.
"Knowing that this was kind of the end of the rainbow, get through treatments, so on the hard days, it was always something good to dangle in front of him to keep his motivation up," Alex's father Gordon Harris said.
Alex is in remission and said he feels great. Even though he's a Carolina Panthers fan, he is going to enjoy the NFL experience.
"Hopefully getting some autographs from some of the players before hand would be pretty awesome," Alex said.
The family has a jam-packed schedule this weekend starting with dinner tonight with some NFL players and a stadium tour with other Make-A-Wish recipients. They will be staying on Bourbon Street during their time in New Orleans.
The trip will be a much-deserved once in a lifetime experience for this 19 year old and his family.
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