Wishing Star Sends Boy To Nba All-Star Game

Brian Knisley, his big sister and their parents are flying to San Antonio, Texas, today.

The Knisleys will attend the NBA All-Star game on Sunday. The trip comes thanks to the Wishing Star Foundation, a Spokane group that works to grant a wish for youngsters with a life-threatening disease.

Knisley, an 18-year-old Valley resident, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The disease wastes his muscles, so he has no strength.

But never mind that. The wheelchair-bound teenager has a passion for action sports, born partly through his sister Kathy’s sports career at East Valley High School and partly through the simple joy of “screaming my head off with the rest of the fans,” he said. Kathy Knisley is now a freshman at the University of Montana.

Knisley also has a hunger for some summery weather. Last week’s cold snap was particularly miserable for him. The cold worsens the pain in his hips and everywhere else, said Sherry Knisley, his mom.

Knisley, a senior, has a fulltime aide at school, Troy LeBlanc. What’s it like to work with Knisley?

“To tell you truth it’s pretty fun. He’s pretty bright, a pretty articulate kid and pretty much the biggest sportsman you’ll find,” said LeBlanc. “Sometimes, I go home thinking, like, man, I have no reason to be mad about the way my life is.”

Knisley’s been riding his powered wheelchair since he was 9. He admits to struggling with frustration at times.

But more often he sets an example for others.

“Sometimes, when I see younger kids complaining about work they have to do, I tell them ‘Quit your whining,”’ Knisley said with a grin. “Quit your whining and get your work done.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo