DREAM MEETING WITH TIGER WOODS.

Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Seven-year-old cancer patient Jahleel Brown had his wish come true - to meet Tiger Woods.

Jahleel, who won junior golf tournaments before he was stricken with cancer 1 1/2 years ago, flew with his family for a five-day trip to New York, where Woods met them at the Westchester Country Club before he played in the Buick Classic.

``I think he really enjoyed riding on the airplane, riding in the limousine, going on the plane to New York City. He enjoyed all that,'' said his father, Carl Brown, a Los Angeles County deputy probation officer.

The trip was sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which sent a limousine to pick up the Brown family June 9 at their Palmdale home, flew them to New York City, and put them up at the Terrytown Hilton.

The foundation paid all of the family's expenses, even giving them spending money and tickets for New York amusement parks. Jahleel also received golf lessons from a PGA professional.

When they met Woods in a room at the country club, he gave Jahleel an autographed baseball cap, a signed box of Wheaties bearing Woods' likeness, an orange and black furry tiger hand puppet and a video of Tiger playing golf.

Woods was very gracious and kind, the family said.

``I knew he was going to be pretty nice,'' said Jahleel's 9-year-old brother, Josiah, who went along with sister Jayla, 3, their father and their mother, Tara, who is the principal at Linda Verde Elementary School in Lancaster.

Josiah said golf pros were standing around watching outside the country club when the family arrived in a limousine.

``I thought, they're going to be pretty mad when we get out,'' said Josiah.

On Thursday, the family had just brought Jahleel home from a stay in the hospital, where he returns for chemotherapy one week a month and to have fluid drained. He is due for a CT scan July 17 to see whether there has been any improvement in his condition.

His illness forced him to spend his last six weeks of school in the hospital.

``We almost lost him, really,'' said Carl Brown, who works at Challenger Memorial Youth Center in Lancaster. ``We're still trying new medicines. Hopefully they will work. Doctors are hoping the medicine will shrink the cancer.''

Jahleel was diagnosed with cancer in February 2002 after he became tired suddenly and began complaining of stomach pain. A mass in his stomach was type 4 rhabdomyosarcoma, a recurring cancer.

After a year of chemotherapy, the cancer was gone. But in March, the cancer returned - this time in Jahleel's lungs.

``It's a tough situation when it's your child and you feel so helpless ... you just pray a lot,'' said Tara Brown.

Tara Brown's school co-workers have donated their unused vacation days to her so she can be with her son as much as possible.

``It's kind of overwhelming, the fact that everybody's willing to help us out ... just the support that we're getting, it's just wonderful,'' she said.

Carl Brown hopes that a bone-marrow transplant might cure his son, but the odds of recovery have been rated at 10 percent.

``I also understand if things don't turn out the way we want them to, God will be there for Jahleel,'' he said.

``He's a real positive kid. He's real serious and he's a fighter. He has a lot to fight for. He's a very strong child. He's kind of beyond his years that way,'' said Tara Brown. ``He's trying to keep up. He tries to go out and play. I think he tries to do more than he can do a lot of times and wears himself out and gets sick. He doesn't like to stay down. He really doesn't. He likes to come home and get back to being a normal little boy.''

A Red Cross blood and bone marrow drive coupled with a fund-raiser for the family has been put together by family friend Michelle Wells for 3 to 9 p.m. July 9 at Funland USA, 525 W. Ave. P-4, Palmdale.

From 3 to 11 p.m. Funland is offering four hours of unlimited golf, boat and car rides and 10 tokens for $10.95. Half of the proceeds will go to the Brown family.

Make-A-Wish Foundation uses sky miles to help fly families to their wish destination and officials say they are running out. Anyone who would like to donate their sky miles should call Suzanne Gutterman, Make-A-Wish coordinator at [phone].

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Cancer patient Jahleel Brown, 7, is shown with some of the gifts he received from Tiger Woods.

(2) Tiger Woods is shown with Jahleel Brown, 7, during his Make-A-Wish Foundation-sponsored trip to New York.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer