Man found young girl's 'cancer wish' amidst 3,000 pounds of NYE confetti. The phone call stayed with him for life

For over three decades, Treb Heining has been the "Confetti Master" for the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, organizing and throwing confetti over the crowd at midnight. Just seconds before midnight, he and his volunteers would rush to the top of the Minskoff Theater and toss 3,000 pounds of confetti, some embellished with handwritten wishes, into the air to fall onto the crowd below. During a special year, Heining decided to read through some of the confetti and was surprised to see a child's wish for their mom. The child had seen their mom, a cancer patient, suffer miserably and somehow wanted to ease her discomfort. The note also mentioned a phone number, and Treb immediately decided to call the family, leading to an unforgettable moment in his life. 

"I wish that my mom's cancer would go away," the confetti read; Heining was obviously moved by the note and immediately decided to reach out to the family. He called the number mentioned on the confetti, and surprisingly, the family answered. "I just had to call you tonight on New Year's Eve. I organize the confetti here in Times Square, and we just came across your handwritten note," he informed them.

The family couldn't believe what they were experiencing, and thus, there was complete silence at the other end. In fact, they were so emotional that they broke down into tears while on a call with Heining. "I just wanted you to know that it will be going out tonight." And they said, "Thank you so much," he recalled. Heining enjoys the tradition so much that he said it's almost like he's living his dream job every year. Perhaps it's the wholesome stories and the bond he creates with strangers that make him fall in love with the confetti event every New Year. Heining hires over 100 volunteers to help him with the confetti event every year, and it's surprisingly not that difficult to join. For the first couple of years, he had to struggle to find like-minded people, but that has changed significantly over time. "Now it’s over-the-top. I made a website where people can express interest. I can only accept 30 per year because every person selected gets to bring a guest. I have to save room for the crew, and that puts us close to 100. There’s only so much space on the setbacks, and I have to be respectful to the building owners," he explained. 

Writing wishes onto confetti can be a way of manifestation, something people, especially the younger generation, truly believe in. Out of the 3,000 pounds of confetti, more than 180,000 personal wishes have been written by people all over the world, according to ABC7 News. In fact, Dr. James Doty, a neuroscientist, says that thinking about something you need and praying for it, subconsciously makes you more determined to achieve it. "You embedded your project in your brain, which subconsciously created new task-positive networks (or systems of neurons that help you achieve high-level tasks) that were extra attuned to your goal. As a result, you picked up on helpful cues and tools in your environment — that you’d probably never pay attention to," he told Vogue.

People have always loved the confetti showers in NYC on every New Year's; for instance, @itsrachaeljoyce commented, "As someone who has been on the receiving end of this magic, I have to say it was one of the most incredible and emotional experiences of my life. Thank you to everyone who makes this possible." @vmoriarty29 wrote, "It is so magical! I was there in 2011-2012 and caught a handful of it and stuck it in my pocket. I still have it." Similarly, @gohaplantcare shared, "It is such a wonderful experience! I was the assistant production manager and then production manager for the NYE Times Square show for a few years. I loved working with Treb, his team, and the hundreds of others involved in putting on this magnificent global production. What a privilege to work on such an event — I remember it fondly!  Warmly, Kieran." @maddygambrell commented, "He is one of my favorite parts of the whole operation! His passion is to make a moment for millions of people present there and watching it through the television."

You can follow Joshua Charow (@joshuacharow) on Instagram for more human-interesting stories. 

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