As I returned to the office today, I thought about my great experience meeting with the most wonderful family over the past weekend. I met wish teen Cindy, her mom and sister in Pittsburgh, where her wish came true to meet the Pittsburgh Steelers.

We all arrived at the Steelers practice field on Saturday and Cyndi watched in excitement as they practiced their plays. After they finished, they all began to walk over and sing Christmas carols to Cindy. She met her favorite players, Troy Polamalu, Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward plus many more.

After that, we walked over and got a tour of the offices where they go over plays and where the “real” Super Bowl trophies are displayed.

On Sunday, Cindy, her mom and her sister headed over to their box seats at Heniz Field where they got to watch the Steelers play up close.

Cindy and her family were so thankful for everything the Steelers had done for them. I’m so glad to have met Cindy and her family. Thank you, Cindy. I hope you had the time of your life!

Vanessa
Wish Department

Baton Rouge, LA – A 5-year-old boy suffering from a life threatening illness had his wish granted to see dinosaur bones with the help of national charity Kids Wish Network.

Just after Anthony was born, he was diagnosed with an illness called Biliary Atresia. It is a disease which causes the bile ducts of the liver to shut down. At three months of age, Anthony required a liver transplant. Anthony’s father, Mark, became the donor for his son, and the surgery was a success. Anthony still has a suppressed immune system and has to take anti-rejection medicine on a daily basis.

Anthony’s mom, Laurie, said that they found out about Kids Wish Network through their social worker at the hospital. She decided to refer her son for a wish. Initially, Anthony said he wanted to build a time machine to travel back in time and see the dinosaurs. But seeing as how that is not possible, instead, he traveled to the Smithsonian Institution in D.C. to see dinosaur bones. Soon after referring her son, Laurie was on the phone with wish coordinator Vanessa, making plans for Anthony’s wish.

“Anthony talked about it for a week non-stop,” said Laurie. “He told the checkout people at all the stores we went to and the garbage man who comes to our house that he was going to see dinosaur bones.”

Laurie said that Anthony has been fascinated with dinosaurs for quite some time now and it all started with a trip to a bookstore.

“It just used to be cars that he liked and all of the sudden it switched to dinosaurs. He picked up a book about dinosaurs and that was it,” she said.

With the help of wish funding specialist Donna, Vanessa got to work and planned the whole trip for Anthony and his parents. A round-trip flight, limo transportation, hotel stay, various dinner arrangements, a visit to The National Zoo, a trip to the Smithsonian and the National Air and Space Museum and even spending money was arranged for the family. Laurie said the family had a great time.

“This was an amazing experience for me. Never would I have been able to arrange all these special things like the private tour we had at the museums,” she said.

The day that the family left for D.C., Laurie said that Anthony woke up at 5 a.m. saying that, “his eyes were too excited to sleep.” She said that when he finally got to see the bones up close, he was so excited.

“When he saw the first bones I thought that his eyes were going to come out of his head,” said Laurie. “He was speechless and that is rare for him because he is so talkative.”

Laurie said that she is so thankful for the chance to see Anthony’s wish come true.

“The whole trip was wonderful. It was a dream come true for Anthony and anything that makes him happy makes us happy,” she said.

Kids Wish Network would like to thank the following for helping to make Anthony’s wish extra special: Washington Marriott Wardman Park, Chef Geoff’s Downtown, Morton’s of Chicago, Bluepoint Restaurant, National Air and Space Museum, Limousine Services, LLC, Smithsonian Institution-National Museum of Natural History, Baton Rouge River Center, Sons of the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, AFL-CIO, Florence Mauboules Charitable Trust

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. 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

Canal Winchester, Ohio – A 6-year-old little girl had her dream come true with the help of national charity Kids Wish Network.

McKenna was born six weeks early which led to various medical problems.  She was diagnosed with Epilepsy and has seizures which last anywhere from one to five minutes.  She was also diagnosed with Torticollis – an illness which causes limited range of motion for a certain area of the body – and was unable to use her left side as a baby.  But through therapy, she has improved immensely.  One of McKenna’s worst seizures put her in intensive care for close to two days where she was under 24-hour care.

While surfing the Internet, McKenna’s mother Connie came across the website for Kids Wish Network and decided to refer her daughter for a wish.  Before long, Connie was speaking to wish coordinator Vanessa about making her daughter’s dream come true.

With the help of wish funding specialist Megan, Vanessa got to work to make McKenna’s dream of visiting Florida theme parks come true.  Together, they arranged round-trip flights, a hotel stay at the fabulous Royal Plaza Hotel, tickets to Universal, Epcot and The Magic Kingdom, various dinners and even spending money to help with extra expenses.

“It was amazing.  Everyone was so nice to McKenna,” Connie said.  “Her eyes lit up every time she saw a character.  It was so cute.”

Connie said that all the arrangements that were made were great, and that McKenna felt like a princess.  She said that her daughter loved the whole experience and couldn’t pick one favorite part, but was fond of meeting a certain character.

“She loves Mickey Mouse and the princesses at the Magic Kingdom.  When I asked what she liked best on the plane home she replied, ‘everything!,’” Connie said.

For Connie, aside from seeing her daughter’s dream come true, the best part of the trip was being able to get away.

“It was great getting away from everything and spending time as a family and just having fun.  We were not worrying about anything – although, it was still in the back of my mind. But we got to go away from the ‘real’ world,” she said.

Connie said that she is so happy her daughter’s wish came true.  She said McKenna wants to go back to the parks and they have started making preparations to do so.

“I asked her if she wanted to go back and she said, ‘oh, yeah!,’ so we started a change bottle to put all our change in,” Connie said.  “Thank you for making her dream come true.”

Kids Wish Network would like to thank the following for helping to make McKenna’s wish extra special: The Royal Plaza Hotel, Pirates Dinner Theatre, Bubbalous Bodacious Barbecue, Cici’s Pizza, Wonderworks, Fraternal Order of Eagles Southside #2244.

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. 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 us at www.kidswishnetwork.org.

Florence, SC – A young boy with a life-threatening illness had his wish granted to visit various Florida theme parks with the help of national charity Kids Wish Network.

Michael was born with an illness called Sickle Cell disease. This is a debilitating disorder in whish the blood cells in the body are attacked, causing severe pain. Michael has a very weak immune system, has had many blood transfusions and doctors also believe he has suffered a stroke. Sometimes he uses a wheelchair for mobility because he becomes too weak or is in too much pain.

While surfing the Internet and searching for wish granting organizations, Michael’s mother Mary came across Kids Wish Network’s website and referred her son online. She was contacted by the organization, and Michael was soon on his way to having his wish granted. Mary said he couldn’t wait to visit the Florida theme parks.

“He was so excited especially about Disney and to go on the water rides and meet Mickey Mouse,” she said.

Wish coordinator Madeline, and wish funding specialist Doris got to work on making Michael’s wish come true. Together, they arranged flights, hotel stays, theme park tickets, dinners, entertainment, spending money and even a limo ride to and from the airport courtesy of Celebrity Limousine.

Michael said he was excited when the limo pulled up to the house.

“I didn’t know I was going to ride in it. I took pictures, too,” he said.

While in Orlando, Michael visited The Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios, and Islands of Adventure. He said Animal Kingdom was the best park.

“It [Animal Kingdom] was my favorite. I saw gorillas, lions and rhinos. And I rode Expedition Everest,” Michael said. “I also liked Splash Mountain at The Magic Kingdom.”

Mary said her son loved all the rides and got to take pictures with different characters. She said they all had so much fun.

“I had so much fun I didn’t know whether I was going or coming,” she said.

Various dinners were arranged for the family while they were staying in Orlando, but Mary said that the family enjoyed the experience at Planet Hollywood the best.

“They treated us like a King and Queen and the food was delicious,” she said. “They gave us glasses to take home for souvenirs, too.”

Mary said that Kids Wish Network did an awesome job of arranging the trip for Michael and her family. She said she gives the organization an “A plus!”

And when asked if his wish came true, Michael simply said, “Oh, yes ma’am.”

Kids Wish Network would like to thank the following for helping to make Michael’s wish extra special: Celebrity Limousine, Royal Plaza Hotel, Pirates Dinner Adventure, Planet Hollywood, House of Blues, Mears Transportation, Buffalo Wild Wings, Wonderworks, Chief Ansen Shells, and Pee Dee Federal Credit Union

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. 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

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

Recently Avery returned from his action-packed trip to Hawaii. While he was there he and his family enjoyed surfing lessons, swam with the dolphins, went to Aquarium, USS Arizona Memorial Pearl Harbor and a Luau. It was an immeasurable to have the opportunity of planning Avery’s wish. There were so many sponsors in Hawaii that came together to put a smile on his face. I can not thank them enough for treating the family like royalty.

To read more about Avery’s wish please visit http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/story/807548.html

Vanessa
Wish Coordinator

I recently had the privilege to work on fulfilling a wish for a youngster from Newnan, GA. His name is Eli and he was diagnosed, at the age of 2, with Fraser Syndrome. As if that weren’t enough he was also born without eyes. With his mother reading to him all the time, it was no wonder that his wish was to meet Jonathan London, the author of his favorite books. It turned out to be a heartwarming meeting for all and when I got to read about his meeting with Jonathan, it reminded me of exactly why I work at Kids Wish Network and how much we really do affect these children! It’s wonderful to be able to put smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts!

Doris
Development Department

My wish kid, Brandon, is on his way to Texas to meet Chuck Norris at his ranch! Chuck Norris cares deeply about children and, to Kids Wish Network, he is a true hero.  I’d like to send a great big thanks to Wal-Mart, the Knights of Columbus and the Longview Police Department for helping to make Brandon’s wish come true.

Donna (Development)
 

When I was hired here at Kids Wish Network, I knew that one of my duties was to interview families when they came back after having their child’s wish granted. Let’s just say that I was nervous and, actually, I still am. However, now that I’ve done a few and written press releases on them, it’s not nearly so bad. It only happens right before I call the family in the form of a ‘sinking stomach’ kind of feeling. You know what I mean? Well, however it goes, I really enjoy hearing these stories. I’ve heard so much joy and gratitude coming out of these interviews that it fills my head and pours out of my ears! It’s so awesome to hear firsthand how wonderful the wishes went. I love hearing it.

~Alicia True (Editorial Department)