It was right before Christmas in 2017 when Ara & Ailey decided to make their premature arrival. Unfortunately, their early delivery came with a host of complications due to their underdeveloped organs and these first-time parents made the hospital their second home. They lived every minute under the strain of watching their two tiny babies […]
At only 6-weeks-old in December 2018, Whitney was diagnosed with a large brain tumor. She immediately underwent three surgeries within a month’s time to remove 95% of the tumor. As you can imagine, her parents were extremely frightened by everything their daughter was enduring but were grateful when Whitney was able to be home for
At eighteen-months-old, Audrey appeared to be a healthy little girl and she was a bundle of energy and smiles. She was growing, learning and eating well, but her parents were concerned because her abdomen appeared to be abnormally large. They consulted with her doctor and an ultrasound was recommended. After a very anxious wait, the
Our goal at Wishes & More is to be able to support every child who qualifies for our programming through a wish and Scholarship of Hope; or with a Memorial gift. Social workers and personal referrals play an important role in helping us reach this goal – as do our financial donors. One of our
Baby Cassidy was diagnosed with Krabbe Disease at five-months-old. This genetic nervous system disorder has a multitude of symptoms and while Mom & Dad were overwhelmed by the initial diagnosis, they were extremely concerned with the day-to-day changes they were seeing in their sweet baby girl. This family from Montevideo is very close to their
Little Livi’s parents wanted to convert their backyard into an outdoor play area that was safe and fun for her to enjoy with her two older brothers. A costly, but critical component, was a privacy fence and that’s what they shared with Wishes & More as a wish on her behalf. We were happy to
As Lucas’s mom was planning his 3rd birthday party, she noticed an irritated mosquito bite on his cheek and his face was warm to the touch. Being cautious, Mom & Dad took Lucas in to the doctor. Thinking that it could be the mumps, the doctor kept him overnight, but released him the following day
Jeremy was born with a very serious and debilitating condition where large portions of his spine were missing. These deformities have led to other serious difficulties with eating, breathing, fluid on the brain, among others. He has never been too far from a hospital stay and his wish was to spend more time outdoors. Sounds
This beautiful and bright young woman was born with a severe heart problem and had three open heart surgeries before the age of seven. We met Abby when she was 14 and we granted her wish for a full bedroom makeover because she wanted to enter high school with an updated space where she could
All of our wish kids and families struggle with uncertainty and the stress and anxiety it brings from the first moment they receive their diagnosis. ‘What do we have to go through to get to the end? How far off is that day when we can put this behind us?’ When we formed Wishes &
17-month-old Carter was born with very serious lung function issues and just one-hour post-birth, he was intubated and his life-long struggle to breathe began. His medical team was running out of local options and he was air transported to lung specialists in Texas. At three months old, he was placed on a lung transplant wait
This beautiful little girl was 3 ½ years old and had suffered from a heart defect since birth. They had applied for a wish just before Keisha was scheduled for a second open-heart surgery and her parents were hopeful, but tragically, hope wasn’t enough. Just days after her surgery, her tired body gave up and
Helena unexpectedly experienced nausea and vomiting, accompanied by a tremor in her left arm, and was rushed by ambulance to the nearest hospital. Immediately, a CAT scan was performed, which revealed a large tumor in the middle of her brain. After she was stable, they life-flighted her to St. Paul Children’s Hospital. While in flight,
At just three-years old Raphael took his last breaths in the arms of his parents. He suffered an extensive brain injury during his birth that was not identified until 24 hours later. The doctors rushed him to surgery but did not cure the damage the brain injury had caused – resulting in poor vision, breathing
AD was seventeen years old when he was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. This shocking discovery was followed by an entire year of intense and difficult treatments before he came to Wishes & More and we learned of his desire to get a car allowance to help him pay for the car of his dreams! As AD
Alexa is a strong-willed young lady who suffered a stroke and brain bleed, resulting in many months in the hospital fighting for her life. When we first connected with Alexa’s parents, she was still in critical condition and they were hopeful that she would survive to experience a wish, but her future was very uncertain.
Four-year old Leo suffers from numerous conditions – epilepsy, chronic lung issues, and blindness. Additionally, he is nonverbal and Gtube dependent. Leo absolutely loves music and even though he is nonverbal, he will hum to himself while the music plays. Sensory items bring him joy along with hanging out with friends, his brothers, his dog,
Six-year-old Kellen was thought to simply have a lazy eye, but when an eyepatch didn’t solve the issue, his parents sought a second opinion. They were blind-sided by the news that Kellen had a brain tumor the size of a tangerine. Soon after the diagnosis, Kellen had a successful surgery to remove the tumor but
Anna was sixteen years old when she went into kidney failure. For months, Anna experience symptoms of a common cold such as coughing fits, feeling weak, and simply under the weather. Finally, after the lingering cold symptoms lasted far too long, Anna and Mom decided to go to the hospital. Tests revealed that her body
Jamie was a sweet and loving toddler who suffered from chronic respiratory failure along with a variety of other conditions. Jamie was fully dependent on his BiPAP machine and assortment of medications; however, he loved to be around his family and in the middle of the action. He also enjoyed playing at the park and
Linae struggles daily with a serious and incurable condition caused by damage to her mitochondria. The condition restricts her to a wheelchair, but certainly doesn’t slow her down! Recently, through her own focus and hard work, this very intelligent young lady has found a love for astrophysics and quantum mechanics and her wish revolved around
Vincent is an active little guy who is the light of his parent’s lives, and they were completely devastated when they heard his diagnosis of Neuroblastoma. Little Vinny continued to shine brightly and surpass some major milestones – including completing his cancer treatments with clear scans after 8 rounds of chemo and a surgery to
Fifteen-year-old Julie is an outgoing, but quiet, young lady who suffers from a serious genetic disorder resulting in fragile & brittle bones; it also confines her to a wheelchair. Julie is a “family” girl and her condition also restricts her from participating in activities that are an important part of her family’s culture. Every weekend
After doctors found cancer in his lymph nodes, spleen and lungs, eighteen-year-old, Finn, immediately started treatments and spent many, many days confined to a hospital or resting at home. Before the diagnosis, he was a very active kid who loved backpacking and the outdoors – so you can imagine how this news rocked his world.
