Louis is a sweet and imaginative four-year-old from Chicago who loves to play make believe with his friends and family. He has a passion for animals, dinosaurs, and adventure. Fascinated by all types of vehicles, he’s especially obsessed with Pixar’s Cars franchise. 

When Louis was two, his parents noticed that he walked with a limp. After multiple doctor visits and ER trips to address this, Louis progressed to be unable to walk, prompting his medical team to push for a biopsy. This led to them diagnosing Louis with a rare form of leukemia. 

 “Our whole life felt crushed within a moment,” said Louis’ mom, Emily, about the discovery of his cancer. “Lou went from a happy, healthy toddler to a frail, sick baby who could barely even sit up in bed,” she remarked. 

Their family adjusted to their new normal, overcome with a never-ending schedule of doctors’ appointments and life changes. Emily’s parents moved in with them to help care for Louis, and Emily quickly found a more flexible job so she could juggle all his appointments. “Everything was different. It was like an alternate reality,” shared Emily about the adjustment. 

At one of many of their countless doctors’ visits, Emily opened up to a nurse about how challenging it was to watch her son struggle with treatment. The nurse reassured her that things would get easier, and that someday she’d be with Louis on his Make-A-Wish trip watching him smile and laugh.  

“It hadn't occurred to me that we would qualify for a wish until that moment, and then it was something we started to look forward to,” Emily noted. Soon, they were referred to Make-A-Wish Illinois and they got started with planning. 

Ka-Chow! 

Louis wished to meet his favorite racecar, Lightning McQueen. Make-A-Wish got to work on planning their trip, and finally it was time for Louis’ wish to come true.  

Louis and his parents jetted out to California, where they had a week to enjoy Disneyland and Huntington Beach. On Louis’ wish day, he and his parents had a private visit with Lightning McQueen in Disneyland’s Cars Land, which is a replica of the movie town, Radiator Springs. 

Emily recounted the visit and all the emotions that came with it, confessing that “I think I may be the only adult who ever cried meeting Lightning McQueen,” and added that it was magical to see Louis interact with these characters who helped him feel better throughout treatment. 

A few weeks before their trip, Louis had an intensive chemotherapy treatment that affected his physical and emotional wellbeing. The treatment also caused Louis to lose a lot of hair while on his wish.  

“We would wake up in the hotel and his pillow would just be covered in hair that he lost the night before,” shared Emily. Louis’ family found that the joy throughout his wish provided some relief to the anxiety that is inescapable in their day-to-day lives. 

"If we had been home while this was happening, it would've felt much more dire and frightening,” said Emily. “Being there and getting to see Louis' joy at meeting his friends who helped him get through so much helped us all to rally and have fun instead of panicking." 

Now home from his wish, Louis’ love for Lightning McQueen is still as strong as ever. “It's the first thing he tells new people. He reenacts the meeting with his toys. He always wants to look at pictures from the trip,” said Emily, adding that “In his mind, this is his core memory, not the cancer. That's a miracle, as far as I'm concerned.” 

“I was expecting to enjoy watching my son have fun, but I didn't anticipate that this would be magical for the whole family,” Emily said, reflecting on Louis’ wish. “This was the medicine our whole family needed. We came back feeling refreshed and ready to take on new challenges.” 

Although Louis still has more chemotherapy and surgeries to face, the wish experience energized him and his family and encouraged them to have hope for what’s to come. “We still have a way to go in treatment, but I feel more resilient going forward and I think Louis does too."