'To Sid, Love from Daniel Radcliffe'

Harry Potter worked some magic on Wednesday night for Sydney Becker, the Livingston girl battling cancer and blogging about it.

Sydney, a Heritage Middle School seventh grader, was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. She’s determined to kick this cancer, her courage shining in her daily posts on CaringBridge.org, a nonprofit organization that provides free websites to help family and friends share information and support. (You can read Sydney's journal here).

Sydney writes nearly every day, even on days when the nasty side effects of chemotherapy take their toll.  She’s preparing for surgery next week at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. And she writes about that too. If she’s up to it, and some days she’s not, she ends her journal with a riddle: How long does it take to count from four to infinity? Four-ever.

Last night was a moment she’ll probably remember four-ever. After a full day of tests and meetings with doctors, she headed to the theater to see Daniel Radcliffe in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

Sydney – and her mom – are huge fans of Radcliffe, the British actor of Harry Potter fame. “The play was AMAZING,” Sydney writes.

With permission from , we’re sharing in her own words the fantastic adventure that happened after the show.

“When it ended, I made my way out to the side doors where all the actors come out to sign autographs,” she wrote late Thursday night. She was given a special backstage pass. “As soon as we walked in, we were practically on stage. Backstage, but on it. We were in and surrounded by all the props and the stage was in clear view. We could walk on, but we were waiting for Daniel. It was so cool …

"Finally, Daniel came out and he was very friendly. He was very short though. I was about his height … My mom went to shake his hand, but she was so excited she just hugged him instead. So, we all hugged him. He was very nice.

"He also signed my Playbill, even if he did spell my name wrong, he gave me a nickname … kind of. ‘To Sid, Love from Daniel Radcliffe.’ I would ask him to sign my head, but I thought that may be a little much. Next time. It was so much fun and totally made either my day or my life. I’m still deciding.”

On Sunday, Sydney and her family will be creating magic here in Livingston with the fundraiser “Strike Out Pediatric Cancer.”

The weather looks promising, sunny and in the 50s, for the event from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Livingston Oval. The fundraiser will include a “Home Run Derby” for kids from kindergarten age through 12th grade, a two-mile fun run/spring walk around the Oval, face painting and temporary tattoos, a DJ and music provided by Unique Musique (who will be performing at Sydney’s bat mitzvah in a few months), with food and drinks for sale. 

Registration for the softball and run/walk will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. and the events are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.  Proceeds from the afternoon will be donated to the Make Some Noise: Cure Kids’ Cancer Foundation.