Heart boy gets more than he wished for at check-in

Parker meets Conrad Smith (left) and Beauden Barrett at Auckland Airport. Photo / Dean Purcell

Auckland teenager Bostyn Parker's heart is not allowed sudden shocks, but he took a low-key ambush by his favourite All Blacks in his stride at an airport check-in counter yesterday.

Waiting at Auckland Airport to check the 15-year-old's brand new passport and ticket for a flight to Queensland, where the Make a Wish foundation has sent him and his family for six days at Gold Coast fun parks, were Hurricanes teammates Beauden Barrett, Conrad Smith, Julian Savea and Dane Coles.

The players, on their way to a pre-season clash with the Blues at Albany's QBE Stadium group yesterday afternoon, had received a crash-course in check-in and bag-handling duties by Air New Zealand premium economy staff before surprising Bostyn and quizzing him on his travel plans.

"Have you packed any flammables, aerosols or liquids?" a deadpan Smith asked the tongue-tied youngster, a keen sports fan who had to give up football and touch rugby after being diagnosed two years ago with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which thickens the heart muscle and makes it harder to pump blood.

After being passed the Parker family's bags by the other players, the Hurricanes captain took control of a push-button to send them along a conveyor belt under the eye of regular check-in staffer Emma Reiher.

But there were one or two more jerky stops and starts than might have made the grade with his day job, although Ms Reiher complimented the players on their efforts, which also included dishing out boarding passes and baggage tags to the family before presenting Bostyn with an autographed rugby jersey.

Accompanying him to the Gold Coast are his mother Tia, 4-year-old sister SaHara and uncle Shane Parker.

Mr Parker found out only yesterday morning "when I got out of bed" that he was to be a stand-in for an adult sister of Bostyn, who shares his heart condition but was unable to make the trip.

His task will be to accompany his nephew on as many fun park rides as the youngster's heart will allow, which Bostyn hopes will be plenty.

"Some I can't go on but there should be plenty of others," he said.

"My uncle will go on everything with me."

His mother said it would be the first time Bostyn had been on a plane even though the family lives under the flight path near the Whenuapai Air Force base, and she expected the trip to be a big morale-booster for him after a frustrating two years.

"I would rather be going along to wet and muddy soccer games at 8 o'clock in the morning but it's just brilliant that they [Make a Wish] are doing all this for us," Ms Parker said.

Any form of strenuous physical activity is out for Bostyn, and he and his elder sister have small defibrillators implanted in their chests to revive their hearts in case of cardiac arrest.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which often goes undiagnosed, is believed to be a leading cause of fatal heart attacks among young athletes and Hurricanes manager Tony Ward said his players were "only too happy to make someone's day and be a part of Make a Wish".

Foundation wish co-ordinator Tim Bird, who drove the family to the airport, said Ms Parker had told him Bostyn never complained about his condition "and has not once asked: Why me?"