For three-year-old leukemia patient, Zabdiel, all he wanted for his fourth birthday was to have his first-ever birthday party - a dinosaur-themed party. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, his wish had to wait. Fast-forward one year and Zabdiel’s wish evolved and Make-A-Wish Connecticut was ready to make it happen.

Zabdiel wished to live with his favorite animals, dinosaurs, in a wonderful forest where treatment and its side effects do not exist. Make-A-Wish and New Haven-based interior design company, Design by The Jonathans, teamed up to provide Zabdiel with a bedroom makeover that would transport him back to the time when dinosaurs walked the earth.

On his actual fifth birthday, Zabdiel’s wish for a dinosaur bedroom makeover came true. He was surprised with a custom dinosaur cake to celebrate his fifth birthday and an incredible bedroom transformation.  While rainforest sounds filled the apartment, Zabdiel was on a mission as he hurried to his room, eager to see the finished product. Zabdiel was all smiles as he checked out his dinosaur-themed room and many other special gifts, including a brand-new television and iPad for the whole family to use! The newly remodeled space also features green accents, Zabdiel’s favorite color, as well as bunkbeds with dinosaur sheets on the bottom, per Zabdiel’s request, and unicorn sheets on top for his nine-year-old sister, Andrea. By the touch of a remote, LED lights on the ceiling can be changed to blue to mimic the sky. The focal point of the room, though, is a large fake tree with leaves and stuffed dinosaurs hidden in the branches that crawl up the wall. It really makes Zabdiel feel like he is living in prehistoric times. Most importantly, there are more dino-toys than Zabdiel knows what to do with.

While Zabdiel was not able to vocally express his response to the surprise in English, he ran from room to room shouting “Mira!” meaning, “look,” in Spanish, to his mother and sister as he clutched his newly gifted stuffed dinosaurs. Zabdiel and his family can rest easy knowing they have a safe and comfortable space, fit for a prehistoric dinosaur, to call home.