After visiting her doctor because of a persistent cough and itchiness, Sierra underwent tests for asthma which revealed something restricting her breathing. No one imagined the severity of the issue until she went in for an x-ray, which showed a huge mass on her chest. Her diagnosis was Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Nausea and sickness took their …
These past two years have been incredibly tough for Adasyn. As the New Year bells rang in 2021, she received a devastating diagnosis of cancer. She was told that 95% of her bone marrow cells were leukemia and to prepare herself for 2.5 years of treatments. This resilient young lady battled through every setback and did her …
It was a routine exam, when Vanessa’s eye doctor spotted an irregularity on her left eye which was eventually found to be ocular melanoma – eye cancer! They immediately started plaque radiation treatment directly on the surface of her eyeball. Fortunately, this procedure was successful; however, she is facing an upcoming surgery and an ongoing protocol …
In the past year, 17-year-old Chance was diagnosed with cancerous tumors in his left femur, all lobes of his lungs and right thigh. He has gone through intense chemotherapy and radiation, multiple lung surgeries, a crisis of his veins leaking the chemo, and a leg amputation. When Chance was interviewed by our wish wizards, we learned more …
Hazley is a fun and spunky Halloween baby who turned four this year! This young family was having dinner one night when her dad lifted her up and felt something abnormal in her stomach. By the next week, Hazley was in surgery to remove a tumor and started treatment immediately afterwards. For 7-1/2 months, this …
Brody is an outdoorsy 10-year-old who suffers from a rare bone disease. His diagnosis has meant surgery and months of chemotherapy, but the family stayed strong and so did Brody! When our volunteers talked with this adventuresome kid, he had many things to say! He talked about wanting to be a cowboy and pretending to ride bulls. Then he …
Will was born with congenital heart disease and doctors told his parents that he would require on-going treatment and quite a few surgeries as he grew. Now at the age of 12, he’s become more aware of the gravity of his condition and, not surprising, he has suffered ongoing anxiety and fear surrounding his checkups …
Matthew’s mom served 20 years in the Army Reserve including a year’s deployment in Iraq when he was just three-years-old. But her greatest challenge came more recently in 2021 when, as a single mom, her 17-year-old son, Matthew, was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma – a rare cancer of the bone or soft tissue. His diagnosis …
Elias struggles with a genetic condition that has adverse effects on his whole body, including his ability to eat or speak. He’s battled this severe condition every day for the past 18 years and requires round the clock care, shared by two nurses, but he’s also enjoyed many happy moments with his loving family. As a single …
Asiya is a sweet 9-year-old from Roseville who’s challenged by cerebral palsy and is also battling heart disease. Despite these difficulties, she is an incredibly sweet and smiley little lady with a family who simply adores her. Her therapist has set a goal to get Asiya outside more and her family thought that a trip would inspire …
Layla was a senior in high school when she was brought to the ICU having experienced a seizure, partial paralysis and loss of speech. It took two agonizing months for doctors to ultimately confirm that she has a high-grade malignant glioma – brain cancer. She immediately underwent radiation and chemo while keeping up her schoolwork and …
All things are not created equal for siblings and that goes for triplets as well. Victor, a triplet from Columbia Heights, was born with a rare syndrome called Polymicrogyria that, among other things, causes epileptic episodes. This sweet 10-year-old shares many things with his brothers, but fortunately they don’t share this diagnosis. As Victor has gotten …
Laura was born with a congenital heart condition (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) that typically shows itself in the teen years and for Laura, it struck strong and quickly progressed at age 15. In April 2019, Laura had her first open heart surgery to lessen the thickness of the wall of her heart; however, two years later, she …
Sixteen-year-old Tori from NW Wisconsin has been battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In addition to cancer, she also has significant developmental delays, which has caused some major hardships in understanding & dealing with the symptoms and treatments for her serious diagnosis. When our volunteers met with her, she described her wish in detail – to go on …
Mathew is an artistic and creative 16-year-old high school student from Hoffman, MN who absolutely loves attending theater shows and plays! Mathew was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) last year and when we met with him in September he was preparing for a bone marrow transplant that would require him to be in the …
Cazen is a precocious young teen from Austin, MN who loves everything from hunting for fossils, metal detecting and panning for gold – to playing video games and having Nerf wars. Cazen has B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and throughout his treatment, he was able to put a lot of thought into his wish. He carefully …
“Our” Maddie prides herself on her honest opinions, quick wit, and tasteful sass. We first met her a few years ago when she was diagnosed with leukemia in her junior year of high school. We call her “our Maddie” because she has been in the process of her wish since that time as she struggled …
Pierce is an eighteen-year-old struggling with myotonic dystrophy, a genetic condition that causes his muscles and organs to weaken seriously and progressively- especially his heart. His condition has depressed his energy-levels and health so much that he missed out on a full semester of his senior year of high school. However, he graduated in January and …
Sixteen-year-old Austin had complained of knee pain for a couple months before he and his parents decided to have a doctor check it out. As an intense varsity soccer player, they did not think much of it, assuming the pain was a byproduct of the sport. After several scans, an MRI, and a biopsy, it …
Reuven is a teenager from New Hope who came to us in 2018 after receiving a diagnosis of a Brain Tumor. This young man is very spiritual and his Jewish heritage is held very closely to his identity and heart. He attends a Jewish boarding school to fully immerse in his studies and, consequently, told …
Madi is a creative & strong-willed teen who graduated high school in 2020 with excitement of the life ahead of her. Just weeks later, and shortly before her 18th birthday, she was knocked on her heels by getting a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Her whole world turned upside down and instead of anticipating and preparing for college, she …
Aloha! When we first met Lucy, she was eighteen-years-old and had not only recently graduated from DeLaSalle as a three-sport athlete, she had also just completed her treatments for Hodgkins Lymphoma. Our volunteers quickly learned that Lucy was a big fan of Minnesota Gopher football player and cancer survivor, Casey O’Brien, and that she loves …
Mase is an adorable 4 year old who manages to remain extremely happy and upbeat in spite of multiple medical challenges, including Neuroblastoma. He has a port and a trach tube and requires 24-hour care from his adoring family and his full time nurses. His original wish was to go to the Disney Parks; however, after …
Seven-year-old, Lilah has struggled all her life with an extremely rare genetic disorder that is destroying nerve cells in her brain and spinal cord. She is one of only 10 people in the US with this disease – but she has beaten the odds by her will to stay alive and and has outlived her …