AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Getting a chance to attend The Masters is not something that happens easily for many people. And some who go say it’s a dream come true.

Every year, thousands of wishes are granted to children with life-threatening illnesses through the ‘Make-A-Wish’ Foundation.

And today, we had the privilege of watching the organization fulfill that wish here at Augusta National Golf Club.

It was the moment 18-year-old Lucas Pacheco had been waiting for.

“It was kind of like a surreal moment. It was kind of like a huge sigh of relief,” said Lucas Pacheco, Lymphoma survivor, ‘Make-A-Wish’ recipient. 

Looking at him now you wouldn’t know that a year ago, at 17-years-old, Lucas was diagnosed with Stage 3 Large B Cell Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. 

“I was kind of in shock. I was kind of like, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ “ said Pacheco.

Shortly after the diagnosis, he was given a wish from the ‘Make-A-Wish’ Foundation.  He’s a big golf fan so he chose to come to The Masters.

“Just seeing the sunlight off the trees and everything and how like peaceful it was and um, I don’t know it was pretty special. I’m kind of still in awe, still in shock,” said Pacheco.

His dad, Sergio, got to experience that wish with him.

“The last couple of days I’ve seen a smile on his face that reminds me of when he was 10 years old. Wide-eyed going to his first baseball game or really cool event that he was really excited about,” said Sergio Pacheco, Lucas’ dad.

Like a golfer a few strokes behind who comes back to win the whole thing, Lucas sees his battle with cancer in much of the same way.

“You know, over the past year there’s been a lot of ups and downs. But you know, I think just being with my family and everyone that supported me has really gotten me through. And I’m so excited to be finally here now and being able to enjoy Augusta and The Masters,” said Pacheco.

This time last year Lucas had his final round of chemo.

And he’s doing so well that earlier this year his oncologist told him that he can go from checkups every 3 months to every 6 months. 

For more information about ‘Make-A-Wish’ head to Wish.org/Georgia