I wish to go on a shopping spree
Sawyer
10
cancer
Sawyer's Shopping Spree Wish
Sawyer is the kind of kid who makes any room feel lighter. He’s funny, energetic and almost always smiling. Like many 10-year-olds, he loves Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite, but he’s happiest when he’s outside swimming, hunting with his dad, or riding his four-wheeler.
By all accounts, Sawyer is a typical 10-year-old boy. But behind that bright smile is a story far from typical. He was first diagnosed with cancer at just seven years old, and life quickly became filled with scans, procedures and treatment.
But Sawyer’s story is about more than what he has been through. It is also about the joy, imagination and determination that carried him forward — and how one wish helped make space for all three.
Sawyer’s Strength
Sawyer was just 7 years old when he was first diagnosed with cancer. He went through treatment with the kind of strength no child should ever have to find, and for a while, it seemed like the hardest part might be behind him. After months of hospital visits, procedures and uncertainty, Sawyer went into remission.
For 18 months, his family held on to that hope.
Then, in July 2024, the cancer came back.
This time, it was even more aggressive. Doctors did not expect a full recovery and told Sawyer’s family the goal was to try to give them one more Christmas together. “It was a shock,” his mom, Carmen, remembers. “I didn’t want to get out of bed.”
But Sawyer met that moment the same way he had faced so much already: with courage beyond his years. In the middle of the fear and heartbreak, he kept reassuring his mom that he was going to be okay, holding tight to his faith in God even when the road ahead felt impossible.
Doctors began an intense round of salvage chemotherapy, and the first five weeks were grueling. Then came a result no one could have predicted. When Sawyer returned for scans in early September, the tumors had nearly disappeared. The treatment had worked so well that doctors were able to move forward with surgery and radiation.
After all that uncertainty, Sawyer and his family finally had something they had not felt in a long time: hope. And in the middle of that hard-fought turning point, one wish gave Sawyer something else to hold on to, too.
A Wish Built For Joy
Sawyer took his wish selection seriously. He didn’t want something that would be over in a day or two. He wanted something lasting, something he could enjoy long after the moment itself had passed.
So Sawyer chose an online shopping spree that let him create a space and an experience that felt completely his own.
At the center of it all was the 3D printer he had been hoping for. Sawyer carefully picked out the one he wanted, then built the rest of his wish around it. He chose furniture, supplies and décor that helped transform his room into a place where he could create, learn, and just be a kid.
Before long, Sawyer was teaching himself how to use the printer, watching videos, trying new materials and experimenting with different colors and designs. What started as a wish quickly became a reminder that there was still so much ahead to look forward to.
The Gift That Kept Giving
For Sawyer’s family, the wish was about so much more than what showed up at the door. After months of fear, pain and uncertainty, it gave them the chance to see Sawyer focused on something joyful again. Instead of appointments and treatment plans, he was thinking about what he wanted to make, how he wanted to set up his room and which project he wanted to try next.
That shift meant everything. His mom described the wish as a reward at the end of an incredibly hard road, a chance for Sawyer to feel like, “I did it. I made it through, and now I have this prize.”
It also became a way for Sawyer to turn his joy outward. He started printing fidget toys for other kids in the infusion clinic. For children still sitting in treatment chairs, those small creations were more than just fun distractions. They were a glimpse of comfort from someone who understood exactly what they were going through.
In that way, Sawyer’s wish kept growing long after the shopping spree ended. It gave him a creative outlet, a sense of purpose and a way to encourage other kids facing critical illness. More than anything, it gave him the space to keep being himself.
Let Wishes Take Shape
For a child facing a critical illness, wishes bring joy, restore a sense of childhood, and remind a family that there is still room for hope.
For Sawyer, that hope looked like a 3D printer, a room of his own and the chance to create something meaningful after such a hard season. For his family, it was the joy of watching him dream, build and give back.
Stories like Sawyer’s are only possible because of caring supporters across Central and Northern Florida. Whether you choose to donate, volunteer, or attend a Make-A-Wish event, you can help bring that same hope to more children facing critical illness.