Make A Wish Monday: 5th Edition

Make A Wish Monday has reached it's fifth week! I am excited that I have been able to share all these great stories with you all so far, and I am looking forward to telling a new one every week! I love this weeks story because it is so fun! I think she made a great choice in what to wish for!

Tabitha is the feature of this weeks wish story! She is a 12 year old girl from Florida, and her wish was to go to a place she had only seen in movies; New York City!

The Make-A-Wish Foundation not only granted her wish to go to New York, but also gave her the movie star treatment; starting by picking her, her mom and her 13 year old sister up in a stretch limo to go to the airport.


Tabitha and her sister Anna in front of their limo!

When they got to the airport, her royal treatment continued; the pilot invited Tabitha into the cockpit and showed her all the planes instruments and how they worked.


Tabitha and her new pilot friend!

When they got to New York City, Tabitha and her family stayed in a luxurious hotel that was within blocks of Central Park, Roosevelt Island, Times Square and several great shopping destinations. During her five days in New York City, Tabitha spent her time site-seeing at the Statue of Liberty and the Museum of Natural History. She also saw three Broadway shows, and finally completed her stay in NYC with a scene straight from the movies; a carriage ride through Central Park!


Tabitha and her sister in front of the Museum of Natural History

Tabitha's mom expressed her thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, saying "I wanted to thank you so much for Tabitha’s wonderful wish. The limos were enormous and the drivers were all so kind. The seats to the shows were all excellent. The weather was even perfect! We had such a great time and will always remember our wish trip. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I love this wish because isn't it every 13 year old girls dream to get to go to New York and get treated like a celebrity?! The Make-A-Wish Foundation makes dreams like this come true, which is why they are so amazing!

Don't forget World Wish Day is April 29! That is 1 week from this Friday!! That would be a great opportunity to give back to the Make-A-Wish Foundation with a monetary donation, a donation of something like airline miles or just by spreading the word about Make-A-Wish on your blog! :)



*All images and content came from the Make-A-Wish Foundation's website, wish.org*

Make A Wish Monday: 4th Edition!

I haven't gotten a lot of feedback on this new addition to my blog, so I was hoping you all could answer my poll for me on my facebook page about "Make A Wish Monday". Comments are almost non-existent on these posts so I'm wondering if you're bored, or just don't know what to say. Please let me know (or just leave a comment here if you're not on facebook)

This weeks Make A Wish Story is all about the first ever wish! Last week, I told you about Christopher, who inspired the Make-A-Wish Foundation with his wish to become a police officer. Today, we learn about Frank "Bopsy" who was the very first wish kid! Bopsy was a 7 year old boy with leukemia and his dream was to be a firefighter.

The wish granting team got together with the Phoneix Fire Department to help Bopsy fufill this wish. The fire department made him his very own uniform, complete with a helmet and everything. They also brought him out to the fire station so he could join their ladder engine. The crew let him honk the horn and even use the 75 pound hose to soak some cars. At the end of the day, the firefighters pinned his official fire fighter's badge on his uniform, making Bopsy the city's first honorary firefighter.



Bopsy putting his new firefighting skills to work! (The website had small, hard to see pictures. Sorry for the bad quality)

Bopsy's wish journey was for from over, however. The media picked up Bopsy's story, and suddenly there was on out pour of people who wanted to help lift this little boys spirits. A generous couple, Bob and Chris Pearce, owned and piloted hot air balloons so they took Bopsy on a hot air balloon ride to see Phoenix from the sky!

Then, it got even better! Disneyland created a special day just for Bopsy complete with private tours, meals, gifts and more. This began the relationship with Disney and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Today, Disney is still one Make-A-Wish's biggest supporters.



Bopsy  and Goofy

 Bopsy had to go back to the hospital after his trip to Disney, but there was one last surprise for him. Five of his fellow firefighters had climbed up to his 3rd floor window using their truck ladder to come spend time with Bopsy. He shared laughs and fun with them before they left and he went back to sleep. That night, Bopsy passed away, but thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, he died happier than ever.

Don't forget that World Wish Day is April 29. This would be a great day to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation with a donation or by spreading the word about their work.

*All images and content came from the Make-A-Wish Foundation website.*

I don't know if I even need to say this, but I volunteered to write about the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I am in no way being compensated or getting special recognition for this. I just fully support their mission and am doing my part by spreading the word.

Make A Wish Monday (on Tuesday): 3rd Edition!

[Before I start, I just really want to say thank you for all your heartfelt comments on my pour your heart out post last week. I will update tomorrow, but everything ended up working out.]

So, Make A Wish Monday is coming a little late this week. It's been a busy week, but I have a really cool story to share this week and lots of new info about the Make-A-Wish Foundation so I didn't want to skip it this week! So without further ado... Meet Christopher!

If you can't tell from his picture, Christopher's wish was to be a police officer. Christopher's story is so cool because he inspired what we all know today as the Make-A-Wish Foundation!

In 1980, Christopher was 7 years old and was being treated for Leukemia. Tommy Austin was a family friend, and also an officer for US Customs. He knew of Christopher's dream of becoming of a police officer, and when his health got worse Tommy planned a day for Christopher to lift his spirits with the help of his friend Ron Cox, an Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer.

On April 29, 1980 Ron Cox and some of the other officers brought Christopher to them, gave him a tour of the city in a helicopter, flew him to headquarters where three police cruisers and motorcycle officer greeted him. He then had a meeting with the DPS staff, where he was sworn in as the first honorary DPS patrolman in state history. They even presented him with his own uniform, and gave him the motorcycle proficiency test (on a battery operated motorcycle) so he could earn wings to put on his uniform.

When he went back into the hospital May 2, he requested his room be arranged so he could always see his uniform, his motorcycle helmet and his hat. A DPS officer came to the hospital to present Christopher with his motorcycle and his smile "lit up the room".

Christopher passed away the next day, but not before his dreams were made a reality. After seeing the joy fufilling Christopher's with created, his mom and two of the DPS officers who met Chris were inspired to create an organization that brought that joy to other children. Thus, the Chris Greicius Make-A-Wish Memorial (now known as the Make-A-Wish Foundation) was born!

Next week, read about the very first "official" Make-A-Wish Kid! His story is really awesome, just like Christopher's!

I also wanted to share that the Make-A-Wish Foundation's World Wish Day is at the end of this month, April 29! For more info, make sure you check out their website.

Make A Wish Monday: 2nd Edition!

I am so glad I got a lot of positive feedback about Make A Wish Monday. Like I said, I just have the up-most respect for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and I am so honored to have the chance to help spread the word about some of the wishes they have granted. Of course they have granted millions of wishes, so I'm only telling a small portion of their wishes through Make A Wish Mondays! Make sure you check out their website to read even more of their wishes!

One of the things I loved about the website when I was perusing for this weeks wish story was their "Where Are They Now" section. It's one thing to read about this really awesome wish that someone was granted, but it's even better to hear that they are healthy today! As I mentioned before, this is my biggest wish for my sister so it's encouraging to hear that! That's why this week I chose to feature one of the "Where Are They Now" stories.

Meet Jonathon. His wish granted way back in the day in 1993! (Fun fact in 1993, I was 3, and my sister was born in 1993!) His wish was to play golf with Chi Chi Rodriguez, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation made it happen! When asked why he chose this wish Jonathon said " I loved watching Chi Chi Rodriguez play golf. He was always so carefree and happy. He seemed like he thoroughly enjoyed life. Every time he played in a tournament, he would grab two kids from the crowd as he walked down the eighteenth fairway, one under each arm, and talk to them like they were the last two people on earth. I always thought how lucky those kids were to spend a couple minutes with Chi Chi. I couldn’t think of anything better than spending a few hours playing golf with such a fantastic person." Here he is with Chi Chi.

Jonathon had just finished his last round of chemo when he went to play golf with Chi Chi, and he vividly remembers Chi Chi looking him in the eye and telling him he could be whatever he wanted to be. "Hearing that from someone I admired so deeply really hit home," Jonathon told Make-A-Wish,  "I knew he was right and from that moment since I’ve always pursued my dreams as if they would one day be a reality."

 

Today, Jonathon had been in remission for 15 years and has no major long term side effects from the chemo. The doctors told him he would never be able to have kids because of the side effects, but he and his wife have 2 kids! Even better, today Jonathon works for the Make-A-Wish Foundation as the advancement and outreach director for the Make-A-Wish chapter in San Antonio! Jonathon speaks so highly of the Make-A-Wish Foundation explaining "Make-A-Wish is my life! It is a passion that is near and dear to my heart. In 1993 someone adopted my wish and made one heartfelt wish come true. Now, it is my job to return the favor to each and every child in San Antonio battling a life threatening medical condition. Someone did it for me, and it changed my life forever." 

I love Jonathon's story. It is truly such an inspiration to everyone fighting a life threatening disease. I would have loved to include every part of Jonathon's Q&A with Make-A-Wish, but it was long so make sure you go check it out for your self! 

Make A Wish Monday: 1st Edition!!

I am so excited to announce the newest addition to this blog: Make A Wish Mondays! A while back, the Make A Wish Foundation tweeted they were looking for bloggers who were interested in posting stories and content about what they've been doing. I love what Make A Wish does and so I jumped at the chance to help them spread the word about their organization. So, I developed Make A Wish Mondays! For the most part, I am just getting stories off their website that I like and sharing them here. Periodically, though, the Make A Wish crew will send me special content to share with you all!

So, without further ado, meet Blaise.

I chose to tell her story first because first of all how freakin cute is she?! Second of all I love that a little girl who gets to wish for anything just wants to see her family!

Blaise's wish was to go to Nashville to visit her family. Her cousins and grandpa live there and because she lives in Arizona, she didn't get to see them much. So when Make a Wish asked her what she wanted, all she wanted to do was visit them and they made it happen.

They flew Blaise and her family to Nashville where she got to spend time with her grandpa and cousins.
They went places like the Adventure Science Center and the Nashville Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Most importantly, the family got to spend time together, and just have fun.

I know from experience when someone is sick, it is hard to just have time to spend together without focusing on the medical situation. This trip gave that family the opportunity to forget about Blaise being sick and just have fun! The Make A Wish website quotes Blaise's mom saying "“My daughter and her brother have suffered a lot of trauma and sadness ... thank you for giving us a happy vacation from it all!” 

To hear more of Blaise's story or to read other wishes that have been granted, go to wish.org.

I hope you all enjoyed Make A Wish Monday. It's still a work in progress, so please give me any suggestions you have! I don't know if this will be weekly or how often I will post these, but I really want to spread the word about the great work the Make A Wish Foundation is doing!