A teen from Amarillo, who suffered a traumatic brain injury while crossing the street to get his father a birthday card, is being awarded October’s Hero of the Month for The Children’s Hospital at NWTHS. The award is presented by national charity Kids Wish Network.

On Oct. 10, 2007, John was crossing the street to get his father a birthday card when he was hit by two cars. The accident left him almost completely paralyzed on his right side. It took away his hearing in his right ear, left him unable to walk and also took a heavy toll on his speaking abilities.

“The first car bumped him and the second car slammed him into the asphalt. He spent 29 days in the ICU at NW Texas,” said John’s father, John. “He was given a less than 5 percent chance to make it through the night.”

Although the odds were against him, John pulled through and is slowly making a recovery. With the help of music therapy, John is beginning to put words together. One night, his family was watching TV when John started singing along with the words to the opening song.

“Who Are You, by The Who is one of the first things he sang while watching the opening credits of CSI and that really started his talking again,” John’s dad said. “Music is everything to him. Even when he was in a coma we would put his iPod on him and let him listen to his music. Music is a great way for him to express himself and form his words because he is having trouble with his talking.”

John was nominated for Hero of the Month by his child life specialist, Becky. She said that the family was excited to be given such a great award.

“They were extremely excited. They thought it was very sweet and endearing to be able to recognize all he has done for his recovery,” she said.

Kids Wish Network works with facilities across the country to find children who otherwise would be missed. Heroes are children between the ages of 3 and 18 who do not have a life-threatening illness, but have experienced something traumatic or have gone through some tough times. Each facility nominates one child each month, and that child is given a medal of honor, a certificate, a Hero t-shirt and a gift card to Wal-Mart or Target valued between $200 and $500 depending on their age.

Becky said that her facility has been using the Hero of the Month program for about two years. She said the program is very helpful.

“I think it is a great way to give patients who wouldn’t get a wish a chance to boost their spirits and give them recognition,” she said. “I really think the program is probably one of the most beneficial wish organizations because it recognizes children without life threatening illnesses and gives them something to look forward to.”

John’s dad said that today, doctors are “flabbergasted” that John is alive and making a recovery.

“He is a miracle,” Becky said.

Kids Wish Network is a nationally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to infusing hope, creating happy memories, and improving the quality of life for children. Aside from granting wishes, Kids Wish Network also has several other programs which benefit children’s care facilities. If you know a child between the ages of 3 and 18 who may be in need of its wish granting services, please call 727-937-3600 or toll free 888-918-9004. For more information on Kids Wish Network, visit their website at www.kidswishnetwork.org

Lexington, KY—A teen from Lexington has been chosen as a recipient of Kids Wish Network’s “Hero of the Month Award” by Kosair Children’s Hospital for risking his own life to save a friend. The Hero Program was created by the charity to help children who have experienced a life altering and often traumatic situation.

During a family outing on a boat with his girlfriend’s family, something terrible happened. In an act of heroism, Lester, a 14-year-old boy, was sucked under the boat by the motor, severely injuring his leg.

Lester was watching his girlfriend’s brother—who was knee boarding—when he saw the board flip up and hit the boy in the head. The boy was bleeding and unconscious, so Lester sprang into action.

“I looked at my girlfriend’s dad’s face and my girlfriend’s face and it was just kind of sad. So I decided to jump in and save him,” Lester said.

Lester reached the injured boy, and was in the process of pushing him up on the boat, when the motor sucked him in, and sliced his leg.

“He suffered three major wounds. One wound fractured his fibula and another one of the wounds ruptured the nerve that runs from the foot to the leg. The surgeon had to reattach that nerve so Lester could walk,” said Lester’s dad, Carlos.

Carlos said that Lester is making good progress, but still has limited movement. The doctor told him that the healing process will be slow, and could take up to two years until Lester has full movement again.

“The important thing is that he got to keep his leg. It will just be a matter of time until he will be able to do as much as he used to,” Carlos said.

Kids Wish Network works with over 100 children’s facilities across the country, and each month one child from each facility is nominated as a hero. Each of those children is then recognized as that facility’s “Hero of the Month” and receives a medal, a certificate of honor, a gift card valued at between $200 and $500—depending on the child’s age—to buy whatever they wish for, and a Hero of the Month t-shirt.

Kosair Children’s Hospital nominated Lester as their Hero of the Month for July.

“I thought the award was great but I wouldn’t have thought that would happen to me,” Lester said. “When I heard about it, it was basically the only positive thing that happened to me, so I was excited.”

Carlos said that once he had time to let everything sink in, he was amazed at what his son did.

“I was blown away by what he did. He is one of a kind,” he said. “And the nomination has really increased his self confidence.”

Carlos plans to use his gift card to purchase things for the upcoming school year.

“I want to get stuff for school: clothes, shoes, books and stuff like that,” said Lester.

Kids Wish Network is a nationally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to infusing hope, creating happy memories, and improving the quality of life for children. Aside from granting wishes, Kids Wish Network also has several other programs which benefit children’s care facilities. If you know a child between the ages of 3 and 18 who may be in need of its wish granting services, please call 727-937-3600 or toll free 888-918-9004. For more information on Kids Wish Network, visit their website at http://www.kidswishnetwork.org

Rogersville, MO – Two young boys from Rogersville have been chosen as recipients of Kids Wish Network’s “Hero of the Month Award” program by Cox Health Systems Hospital. The award is given to children nationwide by Kids Wish Network, a national charity dedicated to infusing hope, creating happy memories, and improving the quality of life for children. The Hero Program was created by the charity to help children who have experienced a life altering and often traumatic situation.

It was an ordinary ride home from grandma’s house for 3-year-old Isaiah and 4-year-old Elijah. Their father, Clint, had just picked them up and they were less than a minute away from home when a drunk driver crossed into their lane, causing Clint to swerve out of the way, flipping their Jeep Cherokee several times.

The jeep was stuck upside down, and it took over 50 minutes for medical crews to extract Clint from the vehicle. Isaiah sustained serious injuries, and was sedated at the scene.
The boys were taken along with their father to nearby hospital, Cox Health Systems.

“Isaiah’s injuries were much worse than Elijah’s, but Elijah remembered everything and was more emotionally damaged,” said Amanda, Isaiah and Elijah’s mom.

Kids Wish Network works with over 100 children’s facilities across the country, and each month one child from each facility is nominated as a hero. Each of those children is then recognized as that facility’s “Hero of the Month” and receives a medal, a certificate of honor, a gift card valued at between $200 and $500 depending on the child’s age, to buy whatever they wish for, and a Hero of the Month t-shirt.

Cox Health Systems nominated Elijah as their Hero of the Month for July.

Since the accident, Amanda said that everyone is doing OK. She said that the hero nomination has helped everyone cope much better.

“It helped Elijah get through it. Any time anyone comes over he shows them his award and tells them he is a superhero,” said Amanda. “He wears that medal all the time. We framed his award and its hanging on his wall in his bedroom.”

“When I first met Elijah, his only concern was for his little brother and his father,” said Child Life Specialist Amanda. “He is my hero because he was so focused on his brother that he did not care how he felt.”

The family recently found out that Isaiah will be receiving the honor for the month of August. “I already have a frame ready and the certificate is going up on the wall. He’ll be really excited when he gets his medal because he always wants to play with Elijah’s medal,” she said.

Amanda said she is excited that both boys will be recipients of the award. “I think it is a wonderful program for kids who have gone through traumatic experiences to say, “look what I did, look what I got!” she said.

Kids Wish Network is a nationally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to infusing hope, creating happy memories, and improving the quality of life for children. Aside from granting wishes, Kids Wish Network also has several other programs which benefit children’s care facilities. If you know a child between the ages of 3 and 18 who may be in need of its wish granting services, please call 727-937-3600 or toll free 888-918-9004. For more information on Kids Wish Network, visit their website at http://www.kidswishnetwork.org