Sophie loved her bale of new plush turtles.
Ask most 5-year-olds where turtles live, and they will tell you “in the sea” or “at the zoo.” But ask 5-year-old Sophie and you’ll get a very different answer. Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of the Tri-Counties, turtles of all colors and sizes live in Sophie’s bedroom.
Sophie had the opportunity to make a wish after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and nothing makes her come out of her shell like the sight of a turtle. In a snap, she asked wish granters to turn her bedroom into a turtle sanctuary.
Sophie’s terrific turtle wish was one of 10 wishes adopted by Longs Drugs Stores, which is a national sponsor of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and has set a goal of raising $1 million to grant wishes. Employees from three Longs stores joined Make-A-Wish® wish granters to create the reptile room of Sophie’s dreams.
To celebrate the grand opening of her room, two Longs employees held a dedication ribbon banner for Sophie to cut. When she opened the door to her turtle sanctuary, her eyes sparkled and, quite contrary to her favorite creature, leaped with delight. Everything in the room had that turtle touch, from the canopied green bed with turtle pillows, to the turtle paintings adorning the walls, to the fresh yellow-and-green paint job and matching curtains.
Plush turtles of every size and species had made their homes in Sophie’s new room, many of them piled up in a turtle tower on the bed. Longs Drug Stores also donated art supplies, books, lamps and picture frames to ensure that – even if the turtles overran most of the room – Sophie would have at least one cozy corner to herself!
Sophie’s biggest surprise was perhaps the smallest turtle – a real one living in a terrarium in a corner of its own. She grinned as she picked it up and looked into its tiny face and then gently set it down and watched it plod across the seemingly gigantic bedroom floor.
Jeannette Rossling, program services manager for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Tri-Counties, said that Sophie and her family were truly grateful to everyone who helped create her picture-perfect turtle room. “Sophie was so amazed that so many people wanted to help her get her wish,” Jeannette said. “Sophie told me, ‘They're cool because they like turtles, too!’”
This page can be found at http://www.wish.org/stories/fantasy/decorating_and_remodeling/sophie_s_turtle_room
©2006 Make-A-Wish Foundation®
