Photo By: Bryan Stewart Everything is planned out, down to the last detail, then the wish comes true. Tyler’s Wish Reveal party came four months after he surrendered his truck to the staff at Davis-Green. In fact, that was part of the ploy. Tyler’s parents wanted to surprise him with the finished product, so they told him he was traveling to Tyler, TX, for a doctor’s appointment. On the drive to Tyler, Tyler needled his mother about getting in touch with Make-AWish to check on the status of his truck. His father, egging him on, encouraged his mother just to “drop by” Davis-Green to check on the progress. Upon arriving at Davis-Green Paint & Body, a technician was dispatched to check the status. Finally, Tyler and his family made their way back to the work bays, where the presence of family, friends, media and sponsors rapidly revealed Tyler was about to get his truck back. Not all Wish Reveals are epic productions. It depends largely on the nature of the child.
Rhylee, 7, had her Wish Reveal at school,
with all her classmates. A fake assembly
No. 22
BSC ENE
brought her to the school’s gym, where her wish granters told her she’d be leaving for Walt Disney World Resort the following week, on her birthday.
Aiden’s
Wish Reveal took place in MakeA-Wish offices. Aiden, 7, who is physically disabled with neurological disorders, would have been overwhelmed by a large production and a big crowd. When Londyn, 5, wished to go to the rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada, her wish granter, Mitzi Sterritt, arranged a Western style parade at Tyler Junior College to let Londyn know her wish was coming true.
Her mother, Brittany Ragsdale, could only laugh. “She loves her animals,” Brittany confirmed. Londyn was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis soon after birth. Cystic fibrosis, a disease which affects the lungs and digestive system, requires constant treatment. Even on her wish trip, Londyn couldn’t forgo lifesaving treatments. “It’s a lot of time and a lot of medicine,” Brittany said. While she still had to take her treatments on her trip, “it was so good for her to be there and experience it all,” Brittany said.
Londyn, who has cystic fibrosis, has always been interested in horses and farm animals. She has her own Shetland pony, Junebug.
“The best part for us was to see her so happy and enjoy it,” she said. “It was a relief. It took stress away to go and hang out and be a normal family for while.”
Her favorite part about the rodeo? “The mean bulls that some people rode and got stepped on,” said the cherubic looking youngster.
In fact, 96 percent of parents surveyed said that the wish strengthened their family, according to a national survey of the Make-A-
Londyn, whose wish took place almost a year ago, remembers it like it was yesterday. She got a pink cowboy hat. And a purple one. Both with tiaras, of course. She saw Sara Evans in concert and got to see all kinds of rodeo events.
B SC EN EM A G.COM