San Francisco Transforms Into Gotham City For Boy's Batman Wish
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A young leukemia patient is realizing his dream to become Batman for a day, with an army of volunteers transforming part of San Francisco into 'Gotham City' Friday.
5-year-old Miles Scott from Siskiyou County wsa traversing the city Friday, maneuvering through huge throngs of admirers as a superhero fighting crime with the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and an army of helpers.
Volunteers, businesses, the San Francisco Giants and even the city's mayor and police department are all pitching in to make the adventure as realistic as possible.
Miles, whose leukemia is currently in remission, has become an internet sensation as the project which has taken on a life of its own through social media.
Just after 10 a.m. Friday, Miles emerged from a Union Square garage in the Batmobile, accompanied by a second Batmobile, in front of a throng of onlookers, well-wishers and reporters held back by police barriers.
The vehicles -- two black Lamborghinis with Batman decals - were escorted by police, who also blocked off roads.
Batkid's first caper was rescuing a damsel in distress from cable car tracks.
Earlier Friday morning, the bat symbol appeared at the Hyatt hotel on Union Square, the first sign of a day-long series of events beginning at 10am.
"There's going to be mayhem and it's going to be wonderful mayhem and love," said Make-A-Wish Executive Director Patricia Wilson. ""I've been at Make-A-Wish for 15 years and never did I think something like this would be possible."
Miles will have some help … in the form of a full-sized Batman – played by inventor and acrobat Eric Johnston - encouraging him along the way as he confronts dastardly foes like the Riddler and the Penguin.
"Riddler and Penguin are watching right now. we can't tip our hand to them," said Johnston.
There was a damsel in distress saved on the Hyde Street cable car tracks, and the Riddler was foiled after trying to rob a bank vault on Montgomery Street.
Then during a quick lunch near Union Square, the next crime involved the evil Penguin kidnapping Giants mascot Lou Seal before our hero's eyes.
Batkid will chase them down in the Batmobile and with any luck will save Lou Seal and save the day.
That will land Batkid a special honor from San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee at City Hall Friday afternoon.
Organizers hope Friday's day-long celebration of Miles will give him new powers. "Some new skills, to face things that are changing too fast, that you're not sure how it's going to go and just charge into it doing backflips," said Johnston.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation, which turns dreams into reality for sick children, will be using social media to describe Miles' journey throughout the city on Friday. People can follow along using the hashtag #SFBatkid on Twitter.
"This wish has meant closure for our family and an end to over three years of putting toxic drugs in our son's body," Miles' mother Natalie said in a statement. "This wish has become kind of a family reunion and is our celebration of his treatment completion."
More information about the day of events for Miles, or information on how to donate to the foundation, can be found online at http://sf.wish.org/news-and-events/news/wish-news/batman.
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