It was a night dreams are made of for Vaughn and the Barrier family of Parkville. They were in the stands to watch the Golden State Warriors beat the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
Little Vaughn Barrier II was the main VIP at the Golden State Warriors game Wednesday night. The Make-A-Wish Foundation granted the 4-year-old’s wish, sending his family to Oakland to watch Vaughn’s favorite team. The surprise - he also got to meet his favorite player - his hero Stephen Curry.
“He walked right up to us and he shook Vaughn’s hand,” said little Vaughn’s father (also named Vaughn) speaking from the family’s hotel room in San Francisco. “He asked about him. We told him he was with Make-A-Wish. Vaughn handed him the marker for him to sign his shirt.”
Big Vaughn asked his son: “What did you tell Steph you do when you make a shot?”
Little Vaughn answered with two chest taps and a point to the sky.
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The Barriers then went courtside to watch warmups where they met another superstar, Warriors forward, and Maryland native, Kevin Durant.
“Vaughn actually reached for him, for K.D. to pick him up, and he touched his head and said ‘I wish I could take you out there with me buddy’. He signed his basketball, signed our oldest son’s hat. It was amazing,” said Vaughn’s mother Khaliliah.
Vaughn got his own personalized jersey and replica championship ring. The family watched the game from a suite inside Oracle Arena. You better believe, even on California time, Vaughn stayed awake the entire night.
“Just sheer happiness. He did not stop smiling,” said big Vaughn. “It was everything that we can possibly imagine, the way it all came together.”
“Even if he never were to speak a word I know last night is a night that he’ll never forget because he just smiled the entire ride home,” said Khalilah.
Vaughn suffers from hypomyelinating leukodystrophy 6, a brain disease that, among other things, has prevented him from ever talking. There are only 32 known cases in the world.
The Barriers are scheduled to fly home on Friday. In tow is a lifetime full of memories.
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