It would’ve been easy for 5-year-old Cole to let being diagnosed with cancer tread on his spirits. But the Make-A-Wish Foundation® made sure that didn’t happen.

Cole loves snow, so his wish was to have a snowmobile to zip around his favorite trails. Volunteer wish granters from the Foundation’s Central New York chapter worked secretively to surprise Cole with an “unveiling” party. It took months, but the big day finally arrived. Cole and his family met Make-A-Wish® staff and volunteers at a local restaurant for the party.

The wish granters first presented Cole with a video of his favorite cartoon, Dora the Explorer. Watching the adventurous Dora and friends had helped him get through his hospital visits and chemotherapy treatments. His second present was an Arctic Cat snowsuit in his favorite color, green.

But Cole knew something was missing – a snowmobile to go with his new snowsuit. Seeing the anticipation on Cole’s face, his father, Brian, told him to look out the window: That’s when he saw a truck pull up outside carrying his very own Arctic Cat F120, a perfect kid-sized snowmobile for his winter adventures.

“There was no doubt about it, Cole was ecstatic,” Brian said. Cole jumped off his chair, bolted out the emergency exit, hopped on his snowmobile and took it for a spin around the parking lot. Since that day, Cole eagerly looks to the sky to see if snow will fall so he can take his treasured Arctic Cat snowmobile out for a whirl.

“When times are difficult and we are feeling down, the thought of Cole’s wish puts a smile on our faces,” Brian said. “Make-A-Wish is a second wind. To see your child happy about something during a very painful time is just incredible.”

Today, Cole is in remission and anxiously awaits each snowfall so that he can blaze another new trail.

In the next four years, 100,000 children in the United States will be diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition. The Make-A-Wish Foundation's Destination JoySM presented by LAY’S® campaign urges individuals and organizations to come on board and contribute their time, talents and resources to make these children's wishes come true. To discover the seven ways how you can help share the power of a wish® with courageous children like Cole, please visit the Foundation’s Web site at www.wish.org or call 800-722-9474 (WISH).

By Justin Schmid