Wish Alumni Then & Now Feature - Owen

I’m Owen and I’m a rising high school junior at Ravenscroft in Raleigh, NC. I am a big sports fan and play on my school’s football, basketball, and baseball teams. I recently became a member of the National Society of High School Scholars, and I am looking forward to touring many college and university campuses in the next couple of years. 

On April 18th, 2008, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. At the time I was only three years old. I underwent three and a half years of chemotherapy and had several surgeries during my treatment. It was a difficult time. I guess luckily for me, I was very young, and I don't remember all of the ordeal, but I do remember when I became a wish kid!

Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina granted my wish to go to Disney World! My entire family flew to Disney World for a week. We stayed at Give Kids the World Village which was a kids paradise! I ate ice cream for every meal, met Disney characters, rode trains, and Santa even came to visit! My family and I had a week where I wasn’t sick and we could be a normal family. It truly was a magical week. All of the kids at GKTW were going through some life threatening health issues, so I got to make a lot of friends that were going through the same thing as me. My week in Disney really was a wish come true. The Make-A-Wish foundation will forever hold a special place in my heart as an organization that granted me a wish and avidly helps kids who are enduring life threatening illnesses like mine.