I wish to be a Superhero!
Cooper
5
leukemia
Cooper's Wish to be a Superhero
Cooper's Super Wish!
In many ways, Cooper is a typical four-year-old.
This rambunctious preschooler loves Peppa Pig and playing outside with his brother (especially on the swings!), but there’s one thing that Cooper loves more than anything: superheroes!
He often boasts about being “as strong as The Hulk” and loves to pretend that he’s saving the day from bad guys.
Unfortunately, some bad guys can’t be fought off with superpowers.
An Undefeated Hero
Just after his third birthday, Cooper was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), an aggressive type of blood cancer.
“That’s the worst news you could ever get as a parent,” says mom, Destiny.
The first year was the hardest on Cooper, as he had to undergo round after round of intense chemo. Between his illness and the rigorous treatment, he lost the ability to walk and had to use a walker to get around.
Through it all, Cooper has proven himself to be a hero in every sense of the word. “He’s doing very well,” his mom said. “He’s making up for all the time he’s been down!”
In fact, Cooper is doing so well that he was recently able to have his wish granted. But this wasn’t just any wish. Cooper’s wish marks the 7,000th wish for Make-A-Wish of Central and Northern Florida, so we pulled out all the stops to make this an experience to remember.
This unstoppable boy was going to get his wish to be a superhero for a day!
“I Wish To Be a Superhero!”
When he awoke on the morning of April 29th, 2023, Cooper probably expected a fun day at LEGOLAND® Florida Resort with his family. Little did he know that the Florida Bandit—who had been terrorizing the state—had been sighted just down the road!
This was a job for Super-Cooper!
After a quick change into his super suit, Cooper was debriefed on the situation by the Winter Haven City Commissioner, Fire Department, and the FBI: The Florida Bandit had taken several innocent citizens hostage at the local Culvers®.
Luckily, Cooper had time to brush up on his ninja training, which was a good thing, because he had to navigate through laser mazes, obstacle courses, and more to reach the hostages and save the day.
While the Florida Bandit was clever, he was no match for Super-Cooper! This incredible hero was able to catch up with him and bring the evildoer to justice.
After hearing about his amazing victory, LEGOLAND® Florida Resort invited Super-Cooper back to the hotel for a celebratory lunch to honor this brave hero!
Here, Cooper was showered with awards and accolades and then got to spend the rest of the day at LEGOLAND® Florida Resort!
Some Heroes Wear Capes
Day after day, our Wish Kids prove that not all heroes wear capes, but in this case, they do!
Whether he’s fighting leukemia or the Florida Bandit, Super-Cooper has continued to display the utmost bravery in everything he does and Florida feels a little bit safer with him in it.
We were honored to celebrate our 7,000th wish by helping Cooper’s superhero dreams come true, but there are a lot more children who are waiting for a wish. You can be a hero to them through your contributions to Make-A-Wish Central and Northern Florida.
By donating, volunteering, or even attending one of our events, you’ll be making wishes come true for critically ill children.
