It was after a routine amniocentesis that Angela and Greg learned their son, Austin, would be born with sickle cell disease. As a nurse practitioner, Angela was aware of the difficult future her son would face. While Austin’s first year was relatively symptom-free, it was when he turned two that the hospitalizations began. Between the ages of two and four, he was hospitalized 20 times. The pain he endured was excruciating, and every test and poke filled him with fear and anxiety. Greg explains, we had to tell him, “You’re Iron Man…you’re strong…we’re a team… and we have your back 100%.”

Knowing the severe, long-term complications that come with sickle cell disease, the family decided to try a bone marrow transplant in an attempt to cure Austin. It’s a long, arduous, and lonely procedure with 10 rounds of chemotherapy and a round of radiation prior to the procedure, followed by a long period of quarantine while the new blood cells grow and develop the ability to fight infections.

“Watching him being nauseous and tired, having a reaction to medication, losing his hair, and at some points wanting to give up… and thinking he was going to die…was a tough process. We were able to say, ‘pull through and think on the bright side, you know your wish is coming, and it brought him some relief.’” Being huge fans of Christmas and the Home Alone movies, Angela says, “…we thought it would be fun to recreate scenes from the movies!”

Austin could never have imagined what was to come. The Make-A-Wish Michigan community surprised him with an epic wish reveal, where it was announced that he and his family would be flying to Chicago to see the McAllister home and all the sites where the movie was filmed, then fly to New York City during the Christmas season to follow in Kevin’s footsteps. He was presented with an original signed copy of the Home Alone script, and the cherry on top of the Plaza Hotel 3-scoop sundae: Austin was invited to a Home Alone movie viewing with Macaulay Culkin upon his return home.

When arriving at the hotel in Chicago, Austin and his family received the red-carpet treatment and were escorted to their 5,000 square foot luxury suite where Kevin’s parents stayed in the movie. Austin was so excited, he said, “Mommy, I don’t want to go anywhere. I want to stay right here.” With so much more to see and do, they set out to tour the iconic Home Alone house in the Chicago suburbs. Passing tourists taking photos of the house, Austin and his family went inside to see it all and learn about the filming. Austin even sat on a sled at the top of the stairs, imagining what it would be like to sled down like Kevin. Continuing his re-creation of Home Alone scenes, Austin shopped for microwave dinners, dropped some groceries on the sidewalk, and bought an American Dental Association-approved toothbrush.

After spending a fabulous night in their Chicago suite, Austin and his family boarded their flight to the Big Apple. Arriving at the Plaza Hotel, there were throngs of sightseers outside the hotel, clambering for the perfect Christmas Home Alone photo. Making their way through the crowd they explained they were checking in and were quickly invited inside and escorted to their room, complete with a Christmas tree. Next, just like Kevin in the movie, Austin hopped in a limousine to see the city sites, all while munching a cheese pizza. He saw Radio City Music Hall, Times Square, the top of The Empire State Building, a toy store where he posed with Bowser, and the Hershey Store where he created a personalized candy bar. He even rode in a Central Park horse-drawn carriage, weaving through actors portraying the Bird Lady, Marv, and Harry.

Returning to Detroit, Austin and his parents relished the Home Alone movie viewing, comparing all the sites they had seen with the movie. They even had a chance to meet Macauley in-person.

As Greg and Angela share, “[We] want to thank everyone on the Make-A-Wish team, all the supporters, the donors, and anybody who had anything to do with Austin’s wish. The wish stemmed from…a very dark time for Austin. The wish gave us something to look forward to and talk about on days when he wasn’t feeling so well…[We] want to thank everybody, from the bottom of [our] hearts, for making his dreams become a reality.”

If you ever wonder the impact a wish might have on a child, consider a shy and scared Austin enduring months of treatment and pain in a hospital bed; then later, during his wish-come true trip from Make-A-Wish Michigan, jumping and laughing on a massive bed in a 5,000 square foot hotel suite joyfully calling, “Mom, I’m jumping on the bed! Come stop me!” The contrast is remarkable.