Mathew’s wish granted

WIDE WELCOME: Mathew Martin, 6, and dad Jason are greeted by a hippo at Auckland Zoo.

In so many ways six-year-old Mathew Martin is different to other boys his age.

The Riverhead youngster is autistic and has been battling leukaemia since age three.

But he does have one thing in common with his peers – a love of video games.

Over the past couple of years Mathew has made frequent hospital visits where he played a Game Boy while waiting to see a doctor.

When the handheld console was lost Mathew’s parents Kim O’Hara and Jason Martin applied to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for a replacement boredom-buster.

The foundation, which strives to grant the wishes of children aged between three and 18 with life-threatening illnesses, gifted Mathew a PlayStation Portable.

"Computer games are something he has learned and he can feel like a normal kid," Ms O’Hara says.

Mathew will be relying on brother Michael, 8, to show him how to play the new games.

Although in remission Mathew will visit the hospital for monthly maintenance chemotherapy until November.

People with autism have "special interests" they focus on and for Mathew they are animals, particularly elephants.

So the foundation threw a party for Mathew and 14 of his friends and family at Auckland Zoo, where they scrubbed behind an elephant’s ears and fed a hippopotamus and giraffe during a behind-the-scenes tour.

"After all he has been through the outings break the boredom and are something to look forward to," says Ms O’Hara.