Make-A-Wish^® Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Wish granted for 10-year-old Mansfield boy as Make-A-Wish^® Massachusetts and Rhode Island celebrates 40 years of wishes 

CONTACT FOR PHOTOS/VIDEO & INTERVIEW REQUESTS: Heather Davidson, Sr. Manager, Communications, Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island, [email protected]

SAVANNAH, GA and MANSFIELD, MA—Mark “Swaggy” Lane, 10, of Mansfield, MA, had his wish granted to be a member of the Savannah Bananas exhibition baseball team for the day on August 3 in Savannah, GA. Mark has a rare seizure disorder which can cause several hundred seizures a day, and is one of only three documented cases in the world of the genetic mutation that causes it. His wish was granted by Make-A-Wish^® Massachusetts and Rhode Island with collaboration from Make-A-Wish^® Georgia. The organizations create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

Mark and his family traveled to Savannah, GA, for his wish, where he enjoyed two days of special activities. He met the team, learned their dance moves, and was part of game day activities on August 3 at Grayson Stadium, including participating in batting practice, dancing with the players, and serving as the official Savannah Bananas hype man on the shoulders of player Noah Bridges, who is a former player for the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Surprises included a press conference with the team announcing Mark being signed to a one-day contract and Mark receiving his very own Savannah Bananas uniform and locker.

“We are driven by a goal to make baseball fun and Mark’s wish made that goal even more special for our team members and our fans alike,” said the Savannah Bananas.

It’s been a very long journey for Mark and his family as his parents, Aprill and Brian Lane, navigated over three years of testing and misdiagnoses. It took persistent advocacy, courage, and their own intense research to push for an appropriate diagnosis and care plan. With no medical research and no natural history or prognosis history for the illness, there are no FDA-approved treatments for Mark, so he is on an FDA-approved treatment for other rare seizure disorders. He receives his care at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, RI.

With his extreme sensitivity to light, which can set off his seizures, Mark often wears sunglasses and hat. Teased by his peers on the playing field, an older girl shared that she thought his shades and hat gave him swag, and his nickname “Swaggy” was born.

Outgoing and fun-loving, Mark enjoys sports—especially baseball—and having dance parties with his family, so he is a big fan of the Savannah Bananas because of their goofy antics and dancing, made popular on social media. This was the inspiration for his wish.

“Make-A-Wish is the only organization that reminds children they are more than their diagnosis,” said Aprill and Brian. “They leave no stone unturned when it comes to making your child’s wish an experience. Living with a rare disease impacts our entire family—Brian and me as caregivers, our children as siblings, and Mark as an individual living with a rare disease. Although the diagnosis and medical complexities were still present during our trip, the experience allowed us to live as a family outside of our rare disease roles and diagnosis."

The Lane family will be paying it forward in gratitude for Mark’s wish as Aprill, Brian, and their oldest son, Miles, 13, run on Team Make-A-Wish for the ASICS Falmouth Road Race on August 20 in Falmouth, MA. Donations to their fundraising effort through the run can be made via www.bit.ly/LaneFRR.

Mark’s wish was made possible by the Savannah Bananas and through the generous community of Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island supporters, including Amica, which contributed airline miles to help grant Mark’s wish, and PSG Equity, which hosted a wish sendoff party for Mark and his family at its headquarters in Boston. The party included games, a pie-eating contest, dancing, a surprise visit from Wally the Green Monster from the Boston Red Sox, and pizza from Time Out Market. While in Georgia, Mark and his family stayed at a beachfront home donated through Diane Kauffman and Mermaid Cottages.

“The community support shown through Swaggy’s wish—including PSG’s fantastic send-off party and Amica’s in-kind gift of airline miles, speaks to the power of a wish to touch all those involved,” said Sean Holleran, CEO of Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island. “We’re grateful to our local supporters as well as our friends at Make-A-Wish Georgia and the Savannah Bananas for creating an unbelievably fun and personalized wish experience for Swaggy that will continue to bring him and his family joy and hope.”

“PSG is proud to support Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island,” said Annie Abbruzzese, Director of Marketing at PSG. “Our team truly embraces this mission, and to have the opportunity to be directly involved in celebrating a wish child like Mark with a send-off party and creating some of the joy he and his family are experiencing through his wish, it’s had a profound impact on all of us.”

The Savannah Bananas, founded by Jesse Cole who grew up in Scituate, MA, have supported the Make-A-Wish mission for more than three years through the team’s partnership with Make-A-Wish Georgia. As part of its World Tour, the team will play a sold-out game at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, MA, on August 16.

"Wish granting is one of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen. And I think what’s so powerful about it is the community that comes together to make every single wish possible," Tim Earley, CEO of Make-A-Wish Georgia, said. "You see what the Savannah Bananas are doing for Swaggy now, all these people that came out and they’ve made this wish just that much more special than he could ever imagine.”

This is the second wish the two Make-A-Wish chapters have collaborated on in recent weeks. On July 29, Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island welcomed Make-A-Wish Georgia wish child Cooper Massengill to Gillette Stadium for his wish to meet Luke Combs. Cooper was invited onstage to join Luke in singing Cooper’s favorite song by the artist, a cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.”

Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island is celebrating 40 years of wish granting in 2023 and recently granted its 10,000^th wish. Make-A-Wish relies on the community's generosity to continue its  work and its vision is to reach every medically eligible child with the power of a wish. For children like Mark facing critical illnesses, a fulfilled wish provides profound joy, renewed strength and resiliency, and lasting hope to keep striving and dreaming for the future. Learn more at www.massri.wish.org and www.georgia.wish.org.

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About Make-A-Wish^® 

Make-A-Wish^® creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. A wish can be a spark that helps a child believe anything is possible. In the face of life-threatening medical conditions, wishes enable children to experience profound joy, renewed strength and resiliency, and lasting hope to keep striving and dreaming for the future. The organization is ranked the #1 Most Trusted Nonprofit Operating Locally Across 50 States for 2023 by Morning Consult and it is the vision of Make-A-Wish to grant the wish of every medically eligible child. For more information and ways to get involved, visit Make-A-Wish^® Massachusetts and Rhode Island at www.massri.wish.org and Make-A-Wish^® Georgia at www.georgia.wish.org.

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