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
Last September, Chris & Christine became concerned about their 9-month old son, Brice, because he had become irritable and appeared to be in pain. A trip to their pediatrician resulted in a diagnosis of an ear infection and, yet, a couple weeks later, he still wasn’t the healthy, happy baby they knew. Back to the
Marques was born with congenital heart disease and had his first open heart surgery at just 12 days old. With continued monitoring, he was able to live a relatively normal life for the next 14 years and then things began to change. He started to have issues with breathing, chest pain, high blood pressure and,
Eliana’s parents knew they would adopt a child someday and after the birth of their 4th biological child they knew the time had come. These incredible parents traveled halfway around the world to the see the little girl they knew had special needs. But when they arrived at the Philippines orphanage, they discovered that the
Meet Willow! This outgoing, creative girl loves being in front of a crowd – whether she is singing, dancing or acting in a play, she is the life of the party. Despite her daily struggles with a gamut of spinal and bladder issues and constant monitoring for recurring infections, Mom describes her as “brave, happy
Remember Samson, the sweet and happy boy who has spent his life in and out of treatments because of his serious congenital condition? You may remember this little cutie from the video we posted of him receiving his official Wish Approval Letter (https://tinyurl.com/vop7jme). We’re happy to report that after all of the anticipation, Samson’s Disney
Nolan is a firecracker of a kid! He is always moving and loves anything that is big or loud! Monster trucks and trains are “the best” and he sleeps in a car bed, so you can guess that he loves cars as well! Nolan was born with a rare genetic mutation and severe muscular dystrophy.
Meet Jake… and Josh! If you weren’t told, you would never know that these athletic 16-year-old twins have struggled all their lives with significant, genetic heart conditions. These great guys are athletes and are a dynamic duo who are always at each other’s side – even on the baseball field! Jake and Josh play on
