Ann Michael Maye turned a baking session into a day Skylar won’t forget.
Last Friday at Gillette Stadium, Maye spent time with the 16-year-old Massachusetts teen as part of Skylar’s Make-A-Wish request, a wish inspired by the “Bakemas” cookie videos that made Maye a viral hit last winter. Skylar, who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, said those videos caught her attention and helped shape exactly what she wanted to do.
“I’ve always loved to cook and bake, and I’ve always loved the Patriots,” Skylar told Patriots.com
“I knew Ann Michael as someone who liked baking and cooking, too - especially during her Bakemas era. I thought it was so cool. Choosing to bake with her was the wish I knew I wanted to do.”
Maye showed up with gluten-free chocolate chip cookie ingredients, gave Skylar a hug, and brought along a customized Patriots jersey with the teen’s name on it. The pair baked together at the stadium, with Skylar smiling through the process as she dropped a stick of butter into the bowl. When Maye pointed out that the red bowl they were using doubles as a mixer in her videos, Skylar answered: “This is so special.”
The surprises didn’t stop there. Maye FaceTimed her husband, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, while they tasted the finished cookies.
In a video posted by the Patriots, he asked, “I hope you’re helping her out baking some,” Drake Maye said in a video posted to social media by the Patriots. “Are you heading to the game [Saturday] too?”
Then came the extra twist Ann Michael hadn’t yet revealed: Skylar had tickets to the Patriots’ preseason game against the Eagles.
“No way!” Skylar said jumping up and down. “That’s so exciting!”
Before the game, the video showed Drake Maye signing Skylar’s jersey on the field. He didn’t play, but the Patriots came away with a 24-21 win on a go-ahead touchdown pass from Behren Morton to Nick DeGennaro, their first victory of the preseason.
Skylar’s road to that moment has been a hard one. According to Patriots.com, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor last fall and started radiation therapy in January, a month before the Patriots played in the Super Bowl. She said she went through 30 rounds of radiation treatments.
“There are days where I’m definitely more tired than others and I still have fatigue,” Skylar said. “I’m still recovering but I’m definitely doing a lot better now.”
For Ann Michael, the whole thing was a surprise in the best way.
“When the idea was brought to me, I was in shock someone would choose that,” Ann Michael said, per ESPN. “It’s such an honor.”
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