Malachi Agnew's mother said her son "beamed from ear to ear" when he chatted with the PM for 15 minutes about all sorts of things, including what items should be included in a time capsule. Photo / Supplied
Malachi Agnew's mother said her son "beamed from ear to ear" when he chatted with the PM for 15 minutes about all sorts of things, including what items should be included in a time capsule. Photo / Supplied
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is helping a sick 12-year-old boy tick another item off his bucket list, by sealing a time capsule he helped create.
Whakatane boy Malachi Agnew has created a bucket list to keep him fighting through a life spent largely between hospitals because of numerous medical conditions.
Malachi's first hospital admission was at 6 weeks old and by age 4 he had his first major brain surgery to treat Chiari Malformation - structural defects in the base of the skull and cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance.
He also has intracranial pressure, migraines, scoliosis, epilepsy, asthma and fused vertebrae, which now pinch nerves.
His muscles had started to degenerate and doctors are doing tests to find out what's causing it so they can treat it before it gets to his heart.
Malachi launched his bucket list project after waking up in Starship's high dependency unit recently and deciding there were things in life he did not want to miss out on.
Agnew told the Herald this week meeting Ardern topped his list.
Malachi Agnew has numerous health issues. Photo / Julie Agnew
The wish looks set to be fulfilled, after the Agnews picked up the phone yesterday morning to find the Prime Minister herself was on the other end.
Ardern is now helping young Agnew cross another line off his 74-item bucket list.
The Prime Minister is sealing a time capsule in Dunedin, to commemorate the official re-opening of the Law Courts building.
And Agnew was an official consultant in deciding what would be placed inside the capsule.
On Malachi's request a New Zealand flag had been placed within the capsule, to acknowledge everyone who had served on behalf of the people of New Zealand.
Other items in the capsule included a newspaper and a Clean Boodle Boodle Boodle tea towel from Dunedin old boy Grant Robertson.
A Chris Knox CD was also on the list but was too big to fit into the box, which was placed within a wall in the Law Courts building.
Malachi's mother Julie said her son "beamed from ear to ear" when the family received a call from Ardern.
In a post on Facebook, Agnew said her son was "so excited" about the upcoming meeting and she was blown away, too.
"He was hopping from one foot to the other and beamed from ear to ear. They chatted for 15 minutes about all sorts of things and a meeting is being arranged," she wrote.
Malachi said he wanted to meet Ardern because he liked what she did "and how she helps low-income people".
"Because of what she did with the mental health and the low-income people and all the decisions she's making, they are really cool ones."
Since the Herald ran a story about Malachi and his list, several generous Kiwis have contacted the family to help the 12-year-old fulfill his list.
A Zorbing company in Rotorua offered to help Malachi tick that off his list, and a Raglan family wanted to take him on their speedboat - fulfilling item 64.
