Everybody loves “small world” connections that weave through our lives. Like those people you meet on vacation in Florida, who knew your best friend when they were kids. Or in this case, the two little girls diagnosed with a very similar cancer who live in small towns just 20 miles from each other – who BOTH received […]
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
Three-year-old Lola is a HUGE fan of Minnie Mouse. Throughout her little life, Lola has used Minnie as a coping and comfort tool. Unfortunately, this blue eyed sweetheart, with bouncing curls, visits doctors quite often as a result of her extremely rare genetic condition. Mom relayed, “Minnie goes everywhere with us. Minnie keeps us brave when at appointments. And
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
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more inquisitive mind than Kingston’s, especially when it comes to outer space! This twelve-year-old from White Bear Lake can often be found with his gaze turned upward. Kingston came to Wishes & More because he has a rare, life-threatening blood disorder that causes the formation of blood clots in
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
Meet Emma! She’s a happy 11-year-old from North Branch who loves nothing more than swimming! In fact, she had her mind made up on a pool wish even before we met with her. She’s a little fish in the water and her medical team shared that it is great therapy for her and fulfills her need for
Kids and Carnivals – a perfect match! Kenna was an infant when she was first diagnosed with Retinoblastoma (eye cancer) and underwent chemo treatments. She continues to be managed with procedures to keep the tumors from growing and her parents feel blessed that they are managing her condition. They were humbled at the opportunity to
Thirteen-year-old Addie began experiencing pain in her right leg that came from nowhere and wasn’t going away. This led to numerous scans and testing and no one in her family will forget September of 2021 when they determined the source – B-Cell Lymphoma. Mom describes her as “humble, kind, strong, brave, and a very driven
Wishes & More had the pleasure of surprising one of our wish kids with his Wish Reveal at our Fall Beer & Wine Sampling Event. Thirteen-year-old Max reluctantly agreed to be introduced as a “Wish Kid” in front of our 120+ attendees. He’s a very shy young man – unless he is on a baseball, football or
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
High school commencement is a date to look forward to and remember, but not in the way it will be remembered by Ryla. Due to a genetic condition, this strong-willed young lady has dealt with benign tumors along her nerve lines all of her life. And for the last 11 years she has dealt with
The first thing people notice about nine-year-old Nevaeh is her infectious, bright, and beautiful smile. It rarely leaves her face, despite her daily struggles with a congenital brain malformation and severe seizure disorder. Nevaeh is nonverbal, uses a wheelchair, functions developmentally at a two-year-old level, and is surrounded by love! Nevaeh, and her 11 siblings, all have
Sharing stories of our memorial grants are always heartbreaking because each time the story ends with the passing of a child. However, Memorials gifts are an important service that we provide, and, to our knowledge, there is no other organization that provides these financial gifts to surviving parents. We also know that sharing the story
Four years ago, Edward was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at age 5. This diagnosis shrunk his world, which soon revolved around constant doctor visits and medical procedures. Throughout the pandemic, he and his family had to be very, very careful due to the lack of his immune system, so even leaving the house made
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
Little Agnes was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) when she was 19 months old and she also happens to have Mosaic Down Syndrome. According to her mom, her sweet, happy, loving disposition makes her a favorite of her doctors, nurses, and therapists and has helped her family have a positive outlook as they navigated her cancer
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
Yahzdani, an impressive 18-year-old from St. Paul, missed a major portion of his senior year (August – December) in the hospital receiving treatments for cancer. This determined young man took it upon himself to keep up with his classes so he could graduate with his class. Consequently, we weren’t surprised when we learned that he has received
Five-year-old Piper from Savage has only one kidney and has struggled with its decline her whole life. Luckily, she has defied all expectations, even though her lone kidney was only functioning at 4-8% capacity! Finally, on St. Patrick’s day in 2021, Piper received a transplant; but sadly it hasn’t been the success they were hoping for
Ameil is a 14-year-old from Rosemount who has not only endured a kidney transplant, he is now battling post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD). While PTLD is rare, it is one of the most common post-transplant cancers. Additionally, last Fall, doctors adjusted a plate in his hip due to his congenital hip deterioration and there are talks
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