For kids fighting critical illness, every dollar counts. Will you rush a donation of any amount today? We will put your gift right to work to help kids like Zack.

Like most little boys, wish alum Zack loved dinosaurs and wished he could have his very own. Unlike other boys, Zack’s wish actually came true. And it made all the difference in the world.

Eighteen years ago, five-year-old Zack was diagnosed with soft tissue cancer. While other kids learned how to play sports and made new friends at school, Zack’s intense treatment plan and multiple surgeries kept him isolated.

“Our daily routine was nothing but ‘medical,’ from nurses coming to the house, daily shots, weekly chemo… even eating was an ordeal,” said Natalie, Zack’s mom.

It was during this dark time that Zack was offered a wish, made possible by the generosity of donors like you.

“When I explained Make-A-Wish to him, that’s all he thought about,” Natalie said. “It took away from that daily routine and gave him something to look forward to.” When volunteers visited him in the hospital and asked what he wished for most in the world, Zack immediately knew. “He wished for a dinosaur statue,” Natalie said.

Zack spent the next few weeks designing the dinosaur, which brought a new ray of hope and joy that brightened even his hospital stays and difficult treatments.

This is exactly why a wish is so vital for a child fighting a critical illness: when you change a child’s perspective, you can change everything for that child. And each and every wish starts with someone just like you. Will you give now to make life-changing wishes come true?

On his wish day, volunteers sent him on a hunt for the “missing” T. rex statue. Zack followed the dinosaur’s footprints to the zoo, the museum (famous for its dinosaur exhibits), and back to his house where his new seven-foot-tall fiberglass friend “Meaty” was waiting for him. His wish dinosaur still stands tall in the backyard of his mother’s home, reminding him that wishes do come true.

“Looking back 18 years, my wish is what I remember,” Zack said. “I don’t remember being extremely sick; I remember the day when I was just able to be a kid.” Now 23 years old, Zack is cancer free. His wish sparked a lifetime of hope that inspired him to pursue a career in the medical field and support wish kids as a Wish Hero.

YOU are the reason we can keep granting wishes like Zack’s, so we hope you will give today. 

Wishfully,

Make-A-Wish

P.S. Zack proudly shares his story of hope to inspire his local community on behalf of kids fighting critical illnesses. “It makes me so happy to see other kids get their wishes … That’s why I help raise money as much as I can, so that Make-A-Wish can give these kids a day like I got.”