'Twas the day before Christmas and I had an alert on my phone that someone was trying to reach me via Facebook Messenger. A Wish Dad asked if I could call him when I had an opportunity. If this job has taught me anything, it’s that when a Wish family reaches out, you reach back as soon as possible.  

Upon reaching him, he proceeded to tell me that his son had passed the day before. They were traveling for the holidays in Arizona, going to The Polar Express for the holidays and doing some hiking, and the previous morning, their son didn’t wake up. He had passed in his sleep. They were driving back to Vegas when he called me, and his calm and clarity struck me. I can’t even imagine, but we talked about the all-terrain wheelchair we had granted his son, and he asked if anyone could use it or if I knew anyone who could use it. He talked about them being at Walk for Wishes this year in April, and what struck me most was that he wanted to make sure the team knew what had happened before it hit social media. As he put it, he wanted their Make-A-Wish family to know, along with all the relatives and friends I’m sure they were calling. 

We do become a part of many of our families’ lives, and they become part of ours. There’s something that connects us as we work through the Wish process, allowing us to become partners-in-crime and friends for life. I don’t know if it’s dissimilar to people put together in crisis or stressful situations.  

As I hung up the phone, I remembered a conversation from a dinner I had attended the previous week. A well-known Vegas dignitary was at the dinner and asked several questions about how Make-A-Wish works. We did the usual education that it’s not a dying wish (in most cases), and he was genuinely interested in our work. Then, he asked something like, did I work with the families or meet them, or did I have people who did that part of the process as I was dealing with other duties as President? I explained that meeting our families is one of the biggest gifts I get in my job. I try to meet every family as they enter The Wishing Place for their Wish Discovery visits or whenever they come to visit. Of course, I don’t meet every family, but I do meet a lot. Last week, we had a kiddo who had muscular issues, along with being almost non-verbal. I did my usual handshake and asked him if he knew what he wanted for his wish. Expecting a head nod would be all I could expect; I noticed in my peripheral vision that his mom was videoing us with her phone. He told me, clear as a bell, that he wanted to go to Disneyland. His Mom said, “Oh my gosh, he’s talking to you; he doesn’t usually talk to people.” I felt honored and thrilled. I told my team I never want to be one of those CEOs who doesn’t know what wishes are being granted or don’t know our families. Why? It’s simple: it grounds me, motivates me, and I believe it makes me a better CEO.  

The Wish Dad and Mom who called me have done so much for Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. We had worked with a local corporate partner on their wish and had media there, so I met them when we granted their son’s wish. But because of the wish, being an all-terrain wheelchair so the entire family could go on hikes, as they loved doing, we made them the ambassadors for a hiking event we were doing. We spent a lot of time together. They had been so gracious, doing whatever we asked, appearing in videos for us, and always seeking the next time we could do something together. They’ll always be a Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada family, always.  

So, as this new year begins, with new families and new wishes to grant, we’ll always have a place for our “Wishfully Ever After” families who have had their wishes granted and then have gone on to lead extraordinary lives. So, too, will the families whose children have lost the battle with their life-threatening illnesses. We’re still in the business of hope, and anyone who has experienced it at Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada will always be family to us as long as I’m there and way beyond my time there. As I tell everyone, it takes a community to grant a wish, and we could always use more people in our community to help. And as we begin to grant wishes this year, I’ll think of a young man in an all-terrain wheelchair, whose life we impacted but, oh, he impacted us and me far greater. #Grateful4Hope