Samuel Nania has two hopes for his Thursday trip to PNC Park.
“To have a day of something different than my usual days, and to see the Pirates win,” he said.
Nania, 58, has been confined to a wheelchair since suffering two strokes about eight years ago.
He lives at the William Penn Care Center in Jeannette.
Nania used to attend Pirates games regularly, but he hasn’t been since his strokes. He still watches every game on TV.
He will return to PNC Park courtesy of the Twilight Wish Foundation. The national charity, founded in Doylestown, makes wishes come true for the elderly and disabled.
“That’s what we’re here for,” said Jamie Bostard, director of the foundation’s Westmoreland County chapter. “We grant a lot of wishes in Westmoreland County, and this is certainly a fun one.”
A social worker at William Penn Care Center contacted Twilight Wish on Nania’s behalf.
The organization contacted the Pirates, and the team donated tickets in the stadium’s wheelchair seating section.
Twilight Wish will pay for transportation in a wheelchair van and provide extra spending money for concessions.
“You can’t go to PNC Park and not have some goodies,” Bostard said.
Twilight Wish has granted 175 Westmoreland County wishes since coming to Western Pennsylvania in 2008.
Sometimes these wishes are for basic needs, like a mattress or hearing aid. Sometimes they’re more elaborate, Bostard said.
Recent local wishes included a trip for a man see The Who in concert; another was for one last visit between a hospice patient and his dogs.
Nania said he’s grateful for the opportunity.
“It means an awful lot to me, because in my position and situation, I really can’t do much of anything,” he said.
The Twilight Wish Westmoreland chapter will host a fundraiser golf outing at Manor Valley Golf Course on Sept. 14.
“I think it’s so important that we give back to these folks,” Bostard said.
