Battles that Bring Blessings 

Some had no idea until her wish was granted. Emersyn is very active. She plays softball and volleyball and serves on the student council. When her softball coach found out that Emersyn had cystic fibrosis, he wondered whether she should be treated with kid gloves. He was looking for a new catcher, probably the most demanding position in the game, and Emersyn was interested in taking the gig, so the coach called Emersyn's mom, Lisal. Mom she said that if you asked Emersyn to do it, she can do it and that she'd be great at it. 

Emersyn's favorite thing about softball is the community it provides. "I love hanging out with my friends and the coaches make it super fun," Emersyn said. 

Due to the cold and snowy conditions in Shelley, Idaho (Home of the Russets), the school wanted to build an indoor hitting facility for their baseball and softball teams. The facility was approved, but there was no money allocated to build it. The community worked together to raise the funds, so that their teams could practice indoors when the air was frigid and the ground snow-packed. 

When Emersyn found out that she was getting a wish, she was excited to use it to help her community. "I don't want or need anything. I have it all. I want to share my wish with others," she said. With that, Emersyn decided to wish to give softball (and baseball) equipment to the town's high school. (Keep in mind, she's currently in middle school). 

“If Emersyn is selfless, it’s because she’s been surrounded by people who have set that example for her,” Lisal told the East Idaho News. “We are just one piece of a big puzzle of good people.”

Emersyn's community came out for her during a wish reveal ceremony in mid-March. There were about 300 people in attendance. Somebody found out that if Emersyn had to choose a wish that wasn't "to give softball equipment" she would have just gone to Hawaii. The event organizers decided to bring Hawaii to Idaho and decorated the new batting facility with Hawaiian-themed decorations.  Paper pineapples sat on tables next to tiki torches, and inflatable sharks hung from the batting cage netting.  The cooks in the community supplied pineapple upsidedown cake and pulled pork sandwiches. 

After dinner, the town's ball coaches spoke about the hard work put into building the batting facility and the skill Emersyn had shown as a ballplayer as well as the strength of her character. 

Emersyn's mom, Lisal, told everyone about a six-word poem Emersyn wrote for a class to succinctly describe her life:

"Cystic fibrosis.  Battles that bring blessings," was the poem. 

Lisal counted the community as one of those blessings and said that Emersyn was so happy to share her wish with them. Emersyn then unveiled the softball equipment. It was every single item that was on her wish list: batting helmets, speakers, face masks, batting tees, a television for reviewing games, a pitching machine, softballs, bats and more. 

Make-A-Wish® Idaho teamed up with Pitch In For Softball and Baseball (a non-profit that focuses on the collection and distribution of softball and baseball equipment) and Major League Baseball to make this wish come true. 

Emersyn says she "hopes that [the wish] is something that will benefit a lot of softball players in the future, and maybe even me when I get into high school, but I just hope it is something that can be useful for a lot of other people."