Stories of Light

JANUARY 15

Gabe's Wish: To go to Walt Disney World. 

At only four-years old, Gabe Sipos can be described as a cancer survivor.  Surviving, though, was not always easy with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the connective tissues.  As his treatments were winding down, Gabe and his family received a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee and flew to Walt Disney World.  This special Spring Hill family spent a magical week in the Give Kids the World Village.  Though this was a very emotional time for mom and dad as they fondly remembered the wishes of some friends who had stayed in the Village, they counted their blessings to have Gabe with them, smiling and feeling pretty good.  “The results,” Mom, Lu, noted, “are incredible, for one week out of our lives we are all able to truly believe in magic!!”

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JANUARY 16

Ryan's Wish:  To have Season Tickets to the Predators games. 

At the age of sixteen, Ryan Smith became a huge hockey fan.  With the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee and the Nashville Predators, Ryan’s wish to have Predators Season Tickets came true… and it was better than he could have ever imagined.  Friends and family surrounded him as he experienced the all-star treatment.  Ryan watched the game from a suite, sat on the players’ bench during warm-ups, exchanged high fives with his favorite Predators, rode around the ice on the Zamboni, and received a tin full of tickets from Predators’ goalie, Tomas Vokoun.  Before having his wish granted, Ryan, who had been going through treatments for Osteosarcoma admits to being “really down.”  But, after that magical night,  he noticed a big change:  his wish has served as great medicine; Ryan has kept his spirits up and has yet to miss a game.

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JANUARY 17

Trevor's Wish:  To Go on an Opry Mills Shopping Spree. 

McMinnville’s Trevor Crawford is 11-years-old and has cancer.   When he learned he was going to get a wish from Make-A-Wish,  he asked for a shopping spree!  A limousine picked him up at his McMinnville home and drove him to Opry Mills.  Of all the stores he visited, his favorite was Bass Pro Shops where he got a fly rod, bait-casting reel and rod, tackle, a fly vest, and a trolling motor!  At other stores, he picked up a Playstation 2, an X Box, lots of games, a camcorder, and a bean bag chair.  In fact, Trevor had so much stuff, Make-A-Wish had to get a bigger limo to take it all home.  It was a day Trevor will always treasure!

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JANUARY 18

Hawk's Wish:  To Go to Walt Disney World. 

A lover of planes, trains, and automobiles, Lebanon’s Hawk Smith is an active five year-old who works his hardest not to let a malignant brain tumor slow him down.  The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee made Hawk’s wish of going to Disney World come true.  From the very beginning, when his school classmates gathered to check out his limo and he sat in the cockpit to “land his plane in Orlando, Hawk and his family had little time to focus on anything but fun.  Among his favorite things at Disney World were the Animal Kingdom and meeting Nemo at “Apricot”.  Hawk now has a scrapbook filled with great memories that he looks at to remind him of his trip.  He “enjoyed it all” and can’t wait to go back some day. “With these kids you never take anything for granted, because you never know what can happen,” said his Grandpa McPeak.

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JANUARY 19

Maxmillian's Wish:  To have a Voice Activated Computer. 

JANUARY 22

Cody's Wish:  To go on a Family Vacation to Orlando and Disney World. 

At the age of seven, Cody Combs is bright, bubbly, and bravely battling leukemia.  Though she is in and out of chemotherapy, Cody is still very active and embraces the days she feels good.  Just knowing that the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee was making her dream of traveling to Walt Disney World come true helped Cody through the bad days she had to spend at home or in the hospital.  Her illness and hospital stays kept the family apart, but, in July, Cody, her two brothers, her mom, and her dad all piled into a van and traveled to Florida to visit The Magic Kingdom. Cody’s mom, Victoria, remembers the magic of the wish and the joy of feeling like a family again.  “Just getting to spend time together as a whole family was really special.” The Combs family enjoyed enchanted castles, presents, rides, and all the ice cream they could eat!  In thinking back on the wish, Victoria saw that daughter Cody, and her family had a vacation like few could imagine.  They were no longer in Tennessee, they weren’t even in Florida, “We were in Neverland.”

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JANUARY 23

Delenn's Wish:  To have a Playroom. 

Level-headed and fun-loving are a couple of phrases that accurately describe Gainesboro’s Delenn Strong.  Seven-year old Delenn explained the motive behind choosing a playroom over a trip to Disney to her dad, saying, “I’d really love to go to, but that’s just one week.  This way I get to use it every night.” And she has!  While dad says, “the whole room is special,” Delenn enjoys the karaoke stage and machine more than anything else.  “She and her sister would stay in there singing and playing until midnight every night if they could.”  So, it seems that Delenn has made the right decision.  With the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Delenn has a wonderful room that gives her a break from leukemia and a chance to feel  like a kid everyday.

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JANUARY 24

Joe's Wish:  To have a Shopping Spree at the Apple Store. 

Springfield’s Joe Woodard is an incredible high school senior who has pulmonary hypertension.  His ambition is to become an architect.  When the Make-A-Wish Foundation told him he could have his wish, he knew exactly what he wanted – an Apple Store shopping spree.  On December 19th, Joe and his family enjoyed a day they’ll never forget.  After a wonderful lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, Joe headed to the Apple Store where he got a brand new MacBook Pro, an IPOD for himself and his sister, and lots of great software.  This wish truly made a difference for Joe, because one week after he got his new computer, he was accepted into the University of Tennessee School of Architecture.  One of the contingencies, however, was completion of his portfolio.  Thanks to his new computer, Joe finished his portfolio within a week, and is now looking forward to his journey toward achieving his dream of becoming an architect.  Joe is writing more about his story and it will be posted soon!

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JANUARY 25

Jonni's Wish:  To have a Swimming Pool. 

Clarksville’s Jonni Riggins is an irrepressible nine-year old who rarely lets her Velo Cardio Facial Syndrome get her down.  The debilitating heart condition has restricted her from many childhood activities.  Despite the difficult nature of most exercise, Jonni loves to swim.  The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee, or as Jonni called them, her “Wish Fairy,” worked tirelessly to grant her wish to have an above-ground pool so she could enjoy swimming as often as she wants.  The pool was secretly set up while Jonni was over at a friend’s house;  when she returned home, “she squealed out of excitement and burst into tears, exclaiming ‘the Wish Fairy does love me!’”  Jonni’s mom, Terri, notes most importantly, “the pool allows her to be a normal kid.” 

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JANUARY 26

Tammy's Wish:  To Meet Cinderella at her Castle in Disney World. 

After hearing she was receiving her wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee, LaVergne’s eight-year-old Tammy Bean couldn’t wait for her wish to come true.  As Tammy began thinking about her family’s trip to Walt Disney World, she couldn’t stop dreaming about her upcoming visit to Cinderella’s Castle for a majestic meal.  Dressed in a gown as beautiful as the Disney princesses’ around her, she sat down to enjoy the fancy feast.  Prince Charming and Cinderella welcomed her graciously to the table, but Tammy was so excited “she forgot to eat dinner.”  During her wish, she also forgot all about her ongoing treatments for Cystic Fibrosis.  The rest of the week was also filled with magical memories, but mom remembers that night being truly special.  “Watching her enjoy it and watching her have fun” that night was more than anyone could have asked for.

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JANUARY 29

Joshua's Wish:  To Take His Family On a Caribbean Cruise. 

When asked about the best part of his wish, Josh replied “the whole thing.”  Chemotherapy treatments for bone cancer had taken a toll, but, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s promise of a wish gave him something to focus on as he was going through treatments. This spunky fourteen-year old from Thompson’s Station enjoyed every moment of his Caribbean cruise, despite the fact that his Osteosarcoma forced him to spend much of the trip in a wheel chair.  Today Josh and his family fondly recall memories of their wonderful adventure with friends they made on the cruise.  The work of the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Josh’s life, and in his brother’s (who also received a wish for battling the same disease) has given the family two opportunities to just “enjoy life!”

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JANUARY 30

Dusty's Wish:  To Meet the Wiggles. 

Picture a fun-loving girl covered head to toe in Wiggles’ stickers, carrying a ton of Wiggles’ books under her arm, while doing all the Wiggles’ dances with a huge smile on her face.  Do this and you will see 14-year-old Dusty Moss getting ready for her wish to come true.  With the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Dusty met her favorite entertainers, The Wiggles.  This special day began with a trip in a limousine that had been filled with flowers by all her friends at school.  A never-ending smile remained on Dusty’s face as she was greeted by the entire Wiggles group backstage for photos before the show.  Though Dusty can barely speak, her mom has “never seen her have that much fun!”  Watching her daughter wiggle, dance, and giggle her way through every song in the performance helped Mom realize that there was “nothing in the world Dusty could possibly have loved more.”

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JANUARY 31

Alex's Wish:  To Meet NASCAR's Kasey Kahne. 

Alex Thornton, an action-oriented sixteen-year old from Brentwood, wanted nothing more than to experience NASCAR in person.   The sixteen year-old dreamed of  meeting his hero, NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne.  The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee made his wish come true by sending Alex and his family on a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. Not only did they have great seats for the Craftsman and Allstar races, Alex had an opportunity to enjoy something few experience – a personal tour of the NASCAR garage with Kasey and his pit crew.    The greatest part of Alex’s wish, though, was the fact that for several days, he had a break from his treatments for Cystic Fibrosis and a wish come true that he’ll always remember.

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FEBRUARY 1

Kolby's Wish: To attend Wrestlemania

To cap off 2007 Stories of Light, five-year old Kolby Westmoreland received the Foundation’s 500th wish.  Kolby, who has histiocytosis, wished to go to Wrestlemania, the “superbowl” of professional wrestling, along with his parents and grandparents.  Kolby learned the news at a star-studded musical gala featuring a performance by chart-topping artist Phil Vassar, singer Ashley Monroe, and song-writer Brett James (of “Jesus Take the Wheel”). In addition to celebrating Kolby, the Make-A-Wish Foundation used the occasion to celebrate all 500 wishes granted since the chapter was founded in the fall of 2000.

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