Braydon's Story

Braydon was born in 1995 with several birth defects that affected his spine, chest, legs, kidneys, etc. Because of a spinal fusion surgery as an infant, his torso is shorter than it should be. Having a short torso means the lungs don't have enough room to grow and function completely. When Braydon was 5-1/2 yrs old he was approved for a new orthopedic surgery to help stabilize the curves in his spine and to open his chest to give his right lung more room to breathe. The waiting list for the surgery was 8 months long.

While waiting for the surgery date, the Make-A-Wish Foundation^® brought our family something FUN to look forward to, rather than this HUGE surgery that we didn't know would be successful or not. Braydon's wish granters came to our house for Braydon to declare his wish on his 6th birthday.

Less than 6 weeks later, our family was in Florida (in mid-July, of all times to go) enjoying the gift of a lifetime at Give Kids The World. Three weeks after we were home from Florida, we were on our way to Texas for Braydon's big surgery. The wish trip gave us so many memories to talk about (still talk about them today!). For our family, the TIMING of the wish was as important as the wish itself. We had 6 days of magic. Instead of the heavy emotions of the pending surgery, we were too busy having FUN and enjoying ourselves without worrying about money, medical issues, or anything "real life". It rained almost every day we were in Florida, but we don't remember that. The gift of magic meant so much more.

Braydon had his surgery in August 2001. The surgery was a success. But, part of the success of this surgery is that he has to have back surgery every 6-8 months to lengthen the adjustable rods they implanted. He will continue to have these lengthening surgeries until he reaches full skeletal maturity (about age 18-20). Braydon has had 31 surgeries to date, including 15 rod expansion surgeries. The surgery has maintained his lung function (42% total lung function). He does not require oxygen supplement or any assistive device. To see him, he looks like a normal, active teenager, which he is. Braydon loves to fish, golf, ride his bike, dig in the dirt, etc. His next expansion surgery is scheduled for April 2010.

Because of the amazing gift our family was given, both Mike and I attended the volunteer training meetings to become wish granters for the Make-A-Wish Foundation^® of Utah. We knew we could never give back what our family was given, but we hoped that helping other families have experiences like ours, it would be a reward for us and the families, too. We love the Make-A-Wish Foundation and all the people involved. Thank you Make-A-Wish^®!

-Wish Granter for 7 Years, Carmell B.

Where They Are Now: Kaeli

Hi, my name is Kaeli Madsen. I received my wish when I was six. I went to Disney World and it was the most amazing vacation ever! I got to take my best friend Dorothy and we are still best friends. I am now 18 years old and I graduated from high school in May of 2009. I am currently attending Southern Utah University and majoring in English. My mom is now a wish granter and I help her out with wishes when I can. I volunteer at the University's Service and Learning center. Right now I am really busy working on a holiday assistance project. I also tutor elementary through high school students every Monday and Wednesday. I am having a lot of fun and learning a lot and I still try to keep up with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I love doing service.

I also love reading and writing, going on bike rides and camping and fishing. I play the piano and the flute and I am learning to play guitar. I love listening to music and have recently discovered that I really love classical music especially on the piano. I love spending time with my family.

It was 1997 when Kaeli's wish came true. As you can tell, twelve years later she's doing great!

This is a picture of Kaeli that hangs on the walls of our facility, A Wishing Place. She is featured along with Jami, who at the age of 15 had the opportunity to travel the country and work as a spokesperson for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Her story touched thousands. This photo, which is a part of the documentary series done by Kent Miles, has a caption underneath that reads in part:

"...Jami's story is a symbol of hope to children like Kaeli, six, pictured with her here-children who are still in treatment for a life-threatening condition, but hoping for a future just as bright. An only child, Kaeli wanted to visit Walt Disney World with her best friend, Dorothy. Later the two friends organized a lemonade stand and proudly gifted the Foundation with money to bring joy and hope to other wish children."

(a photo of Kaeli and Dorothy selling lemonade)

Because A Wishing Place was not created when Kaeli's wish was granted, she did not have the opportunity to raise a star at the time. But only five months after our facility was complete, she brought her family in for the official ceremony.

We love being able to reconnect with so many of the good people we've worked with over the years. Just the other day a former wish granter found us on Twitter. Another wish mom-turned-volunteer turned in her story last night, and we look forward to sharing it with you in the next couple of days. If you are a former wish kid, a family member or a volunteer who has lost touch, please email us. We'd love to hear your story!

Where They Are Now: Josh

Seven-year-old Joshua qualified for a wish after being diagnosed with a brain stem tumor. That was back in 2000, a time when Pokemon was popular and the Jazz were on their way to the NBA playoffs. Josh loved basketball, but as his health held him back he ended up spending more time indoors, playing with Pokemon cards and watching the movie on tv. He told us that he liked to play Candyland. And he dreamed of growing up to be an astronaut.

When we sat down with Josh and talked about different wish ideas, it was no surprise to learn that if he could MEET anyone he would meet John Stockton or Karl Malone. He also told us that he would like to wish to HAVE a dog, to GO to Walt Disney World^® Resort, and perhaps, if the dog didn't work out, a wish to HAVE a go-kart.

After talking it over he decided on the trip to Florida. This was a big deal for his family. He has four brothers and three sisters, and his family had never taken a trip this big before.

So on the big day his wish granters, Frank N. and Joyce S., met the family at the airport to bid them farewell.

A wonderful time was had by all during their week on the East Coast. Josh's parents were able to sit back and smile as they watched each of their eight kids race from one ride to the next at the different theme parks they visited. Josh was able to leave all of his worries behind as he treated his family to the trip of a lifetime.

Josh's week wrapped up and it was time to head home. But he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a basketball player from his favorite team taking the same plane ride home from Florida! Jeff Hornacek had also been in town that week, and he was more than happy to pose for a picture with Josh.

Upon returing to Utah Josh drew a picture of his wish, an obvious sign that Epcot Center was pretty cool to see in person. On the back of his picture he wrote, "The thing I liked most about my wish was the rides."

His mom also sent in a thank you card, and inside she wrote, "I need to thank you again for all you did to put together such a wonderful trip for Josh and our whole family. It will be an event never to be forgotten. You and Joyce will always be a part of those memories. Thanks for doing what you do."

(Josh, now 16-years-old)

We had a chance to talk to Josh's dad this fall. He told us that Josh is now 16-years-old and learning how to drive. He said that side effects from the brain tumor make it a little harder for Josh to process things, and so in the case of learning to drive there can still be moments when driving is tough for Josh and scary for Dad. But Josh is very active, doing well, and taking advantage of living life to its fullest.

(Josh and one of his sisters smile for the camera)

Where They Are Now: Stephanie's Secret Garden Wish

(As reported by Christiana Brady, ABC 4 News, Nov. 24, 2008)

PLEASANT GROVE, Utah (ABC 4 News) - We're only days away from the holiday dedicated to reflection, to family, and to showing thanks. One Pleasant Grove family has an intimate story of gratitude.

"The question always comes up and it's a very normal thing for a child, the question was, 'Am I going to die?' and as a mother, and my husband David as well, it was very important for us to be honest, so I said, 'Yes, you are going to die, but we all die and we go when we're supposed to go."

These are the words of mother Sharilyn Evans, but her 8-year-old Stephanie somehow already knew this, having what her parents call a 'deeper sense of her mortality' than even they could grasp. David Evans says, "Even as parents, we try to teach them and try to instill in them faith, and they seem to come with that already. It's kind of hard to explain."

Stephanie was born with a terminal disease, Spinal Muscular Atrophy or SMA; her muscles only strong enough to hold a flower. Their second child, Steven, faced a 25 percent chance of being born with the disease. He also had SMA, but at a more advanced stage.

Children with SMA don't sleep and in the middle of the night, Stephanie and Steven would pretend they were characters from their favorite story "The Secret Garden." Wish granters from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah, along with some one thousand volunteers came together to compose the garden exactly as Stephanie wished, complete with a gazebo, a waterfall…even a secret place where Stephanie and Steven could meet in their wheel chairs.

David said, "I think always in the back of her mind, there may have been this little bit of hope that the garden would bring some of that magic into her life, possibly...in regard to her physical disability."

Stephanie died just before Thanksgiving eight years ago when she was 10, Steven died when he was 7.


Stephanie made a will for her family to read after she died.




Her will reads: "My will: my rings go to Mom and Dad, my bed goes to Natalie, my gel pens go to Steven...I will always come to the garden if you need me, even if you can't see me, I'll be with you and with Steven. I love you all and will be with you till the end, Stephanie."


This year is the garden's 10th birthday. The trees stand tall, the roses multiply, the garden now as Stephanie imagined.


David said, "You almost feel like, in a funny way, that you have a little piece of heaven in your home. When they pass away, there's quite a noticeable difference that special feeling that was in your home while they were here is gone."


David and Sharilyn have had four children since. Their 5-year-old, Madeline, also born with SMA. Just like Stephanie trusted in her will, today, when the Evans visit their garden, "The Secret Garden," they find Stephanie and Steven immortalized. "


Like life, it cycles: Spring is beautiful and everything is blooming in the garden...it's very representative of our life cycle, and we are firm believers in resurrection, and then when Spring comes again, it all comes back," says Sharilyn.


To watch video of this story online, please visit ABC 4's Web site.

Jared's Wish for Legos!

Click on the link below, as well as the wonderful KSL video montage, to see Jared’s wish for legos. After we first met Jared and he declared his wish to have tons of lego blocks, his wish granters gave this little fellow an Indiana Jones Temple of Doom lego set right away. He was very sick and needed some distraction, even though his wish party was scheduled within the week. By the time he arrived for his wish day party, Jared had already put the Temple of Doom together without adult help. He’s only 7, and there was a 69 page instruction book!

Jared also loves super heroes. Hence the surprise arrival at his party of Superman, Spiderman, and the Hulk on a Murray City fire truck. These heroes swung into action to save his tons of legos from a bad guy bandit that showed up at the party for about 100 people. Jared got an Iron Man outfit and joined in the arrest.

Our volunteers videoed the event, not just KSL, so we may have some footage we can use on our You Tube channel soon. but here is the KSL story!

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8616792

Chriss

Where Are They Now? Jasmine

In honor of our 25th Anniversary, we are doing retrospective “Power of A Wish” stories on children many years after their wishes. Here is Jasmine, featured earlier on the blog, who wished to be a baby nurse seven years ago. Click on the video link and then on the video story (upper right) on the Channel 4 web site to play this segment.

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/Power-of-a-Wish-seven-years-later/VQ8CnIVHLEK53_fvzG7mNw.cspx

Christine Sharer

Where Are They Now: Ali

In 2000, sweet 4-year-old Ali, a beautiful girl with long curly blond hair, was a happy, care-free kid. Her carefree path through childhood was filled with Barney, baby dolls, princesses, and The Little Mermaid. Things changed quickly when her parents noticed her right eye was drooping. They took her to the doctor and were devastated to hear that she had Rhabdomyosarcoma, a fast growing, highly malignant tumor. The tumor was growing behind her right eye, which was causing the drooping. Unfortunately, the doctors were unable to remove the entire tumor without having to also remove Ali’s eye and eye socket. Her parents chose instead to try an experimental chemotherapy treatment and radiation. Every week for one year, Ali received chemotherapy. She also received 40 days of radiation. She was a sick girl but refused to take her pain medication because then she would be “too sick to play.” When she would visit the hospital for her treatments she would often bring toys and gifts for the “really sick kids” in the hospital. She felt invincible, in a way.

During her treatments Ali had the chance to have a wish granted from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah! When she met with her wish granting volunteers, Ali first wished at first to go to Jerusalem to see where Jesus lived. Then she wished to go on a Disney Cruise. Within a couple of days, however, she had changed her mind and asked if she could have a computer instead because it would be "something she could have forever…and play with every day." She also wondered if she could have a touch-screen computer because she couldn't read well enough to understand all the writing.

Ali's Wish Granters went to work immediately to design an idyllic wish for a five-year-old little girl. They found a purple chair, a matching telephone, an Ali-sized computer desk, a Barbie digital camera, a scanner, and lots of fun software. And they designed the perfect wish day.

The magic began when Ali was taken by limo to Guadalahonky's (her favorite restaurant) for a celebration meal with friends and family. Arriving back at the house, Ali became a "wish princess" for the day with her own special crown and a beautiful wrist corsage. Her wish granters had laid on the floor a "wish path" that Ali had to follow, picking up small treasures like candies and toys on the way. Her bedroom was at the end of the trail, and when Ali saw what awaited her and touched the screen for the first time, she shrieked with delight. She was totally mesmerized by her computer.

Ali’s wish was more than just a piece of technology, it was a chance to escape her world of doctors and treatments and enter a world of imagination. She and her sister Michelle spent hours and hours playing on the computer. Ali exclaimed, "It's like magic. I feel like I'm right there under the water with Ariel." Her mom told us, "I realized that Make-A-Wish truly accomplished what it set out to accomplish. It took her out of a doctor's world and back into a little girl's world."
Ali is no longer a little girl. She is a beautiful 13-year-old teenager. She is in the 8th grade but is actually ahead of her grade academically. She enjoys school, reading and hanging out with her friends. Ali also loves to travel and is lucky to go on lots of vacations with her family (including Europe!)

Ali has been in remission for 8 years, although she will never fully be risk free. She has had a total of 12 surgeries since her diagnosis. During her cancer treatment Ali lost all of the vision in her right eye. Luckily, she has since received a new lens, reconstructive surgery on her eyelid and now has 20/20 vision. It is no surprise that ally wants to be an eye doctor when she grows up. That way, she can help others to see as clearly as she does now.