I was recently honored to be able to work on a wish for a very special young man named Cody, who is a true survivor. Cody lives in NY and was diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease at birth. This is a nasty disease that involves a blockage of the large intestine. Cody is 10-years-old and has had 101 surgeries to date. Cody does not let his illness get him down or break his spirit. He describes himself as an outdoorsman who loves adventure.

Cody’s only wish was to meet his hero Bear Grylls from Discovery Channel’s Man vs. Wild. After contacting Discovery Channel, I was put in touch with the person who could arrange this meeting. We were told that Mr. Grylls would be in Los Angeles the first part of December. We arranged for Cody and his family to fly out to Hollywood and for Cody to be treated like the star he is.

Finally, the morning of the meeting arrived and Cody was anxious to meet Bear. We were escorted to a private room and pretty soon we heard Bear yelling down the hallway “Cody, where are you?” Cody was so excited he yelled back, “I’m in here!” Soon, Cody and Bear became great friends and spent about an hour chatting and getting to know each other. Bear brought Cody a special Man vs. Wild book and personally autographed it for him as they reminisced about pictures of the show in the book. Cody impressed Bear with his complete and detailed memory of each episode. Cody also brought a special “throwing star” that he made for Bear; this “star” is a tool that you use in the wilderness. Bear was very touched and asked Cody to autograph it for him. Cody also shared his story of survival with Bear by showing him a touching album of photos of his different surgeries and important milestones in his life. At the end of the meeting Cody gave his hero a big hug and promised to stay in touch. I think that in giving Cody his greatest wish, Bear was himself blessed beyond words.

Jill
Wish Department

I’ve worked all over the United States trying to fund wishes for children who just need some smiles on their faces. I’ve spoken to some wonderful sponsors and every once in a while you get a sponsor who wants to help in more ways than funding a wish.

I recently worked on funding wishes for Zachary and Kevin, two brothers that live in Florida. In speaking with the secretary of the local Masonic Lodge, he mentioned that they not only wanted to help with the wish but wanted Zachary, Kevin and their family to have dinner with them. It was all set to happen and I anxiously awaited the call to see how things went. I received a call the very next day and by all accounts everyone had a wonderful time. It’s always wonderful when a sponsor wants to go that extra mile to bring a smile to a child’s face.

Megan
Development Department