I wish to go to Universal Studios Orlando
Liam
7
cancer
Liam's Wish to go to Universal Studios Orlando
When Liam was two his parents noticed a bump on his head, after it didn’t go away, they took him in to get looked at. A biopsy was taken, and he was quickly diagnosed with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) a rare cancer. The hospital immediately began Liam's treatment which became a long 4-year journey for Liam and his family.
“Receiving the diagnosis was very hard and traumatic. The wait for the results and then the diagnosis which was far worse than we could have expected. We went from a cat scan to the Oncology floor and then we knew at that point everything would be different.” shared Mikaila, Liam’s mom.
Their social worker at the hospital shared information about Make-A-Wish to Liam’s family and they waited until he was through his treatment and until they felt he was the right age to think of his most desired wish.
Liam had a long road to recovery and after one of his relapses, to pass the time during Chemo, he and his dad would find a transformer to build and whilst he sat through his chemo treatment, they would watch YouTube videos following step-by-step instructions on how to build that transformer. Through these videos in the hospital, Liam watched a boy meet Optimus Prime in person and it was then he knew that was his wish, he wished to meet Optimus Prime.
Mikaila shared, “Thinking about his wish, gave him something to look forward to during those many hours of treatment and hospital stays.”
When it was time for his wish, Liam’s family went to Orlando to visit Universal Studios, to meet the one and only Optimus Prime. Liam also got to go on many rides and the Jurassic World VelociCoaster was a real highlight for him. Staying at Give Kids the World is also a special memory for Liam and his family, Liam shared that Give Kids the World felt like being in a fairy village.
When discussing the wish trip, Mikaila said “This wish was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was a magical trip that we can never replicate. Make-A-Wish was so gracious throughout the process checking on Liam when we had to delay due to his relapse and COVID. Having the wish to look forward to, helped him get through his treatment, we even created a wish countdown calendar, and the anticipation of the wish was almost as good as the wish”.
Liam is now 8 and is a vivacious boy who is full of life and when he is not playing video games, he is outside hiking and looking for animals and creatures at night and is the proud owner of 5 geckos!