Blair is an 18-year-old self-proclaimed ‘Ag Kid’ from Burns, Wyoming. Growing up in Evanston, she spent plenty of time exploring western Wyoming and northern Utah camping, hunting, and fishing. Blair has spent much of her life raising, showing, and judging livestock, which became especially important to her after she was diagnosed with a serious and rare heart condition in middle school.

When Blair was in seventh grade, she passed out during a workout in PE class, which her doctor initially thought was caused by changing hormones. Yet, after passing out a second time during physical activity, the problem was escalated to Primary Children’s Hospital in Utah. After multiple hospital visits and cardiac testing, she was diagnosed with a rare heart condition similar to CPVT (catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia).

Doctors ran extensive stress tests and genetic testing, and Blair became part of multiple clinical trials, including one at the Mayo Clinic. Despite undergoing a sympathetic denervation surgery, her condition continued, and further testing showed several areas of her heart misfiring. Eventually, Blair had a pacemaker placed, which doubled as a defibrillator, regulating her heart rate and serving as a backup plan in case she passed out again. While her condition is lifelong and filled with many unknowns, Blair refuses to let it define her.

“I just try to live with it and go on about life as best I can because that’s about all you can do. I’m not going to let it dictate my life,” Blair says. “Because I couldn’t play sports, I started showing and judging livestock a lot, which I grew to love so much. So, it was kind of a blessing in disguise. I’ve won national shows and done a lot of stuff that a lot of kids haven’t been able to do, for example, I won the National Western Stock Show last year through livestock, and that’s an invite-only contest.”

When Blair was referred to Make-A-Wish by her cardiologist, she was surprised. She had always believed wishes were only for terminally ill children, but that was not the case. Ideas for her wish quickly ran rampant in her mind, but she wanted to choose something truly special – which took time.

She thought about traveling somewhere adventurous, somewhere like New Zealand. Her sister had visited New Zealand years earlier and loved it, and Blair wanted to experience the islands for herself. As an Ag Kid, she had always dreamed of going, especially because of its agriculture, wildlife, and outdoor adventure. When she learned they would be going to the South Island, she was even more excited.

“We stayed in Queenstown, in a small villa overlooking a glacial lake,” Blair shares. “One of my favorite things we did there was zip-lining through the mountains. I also loved the food, especially their version of elk, known there as wapiti, and other things like pasta, pizza, and gourmet burgers. We also went to Fergburger, which is known for the world’s best burger.”

New Zealand quickly became everything Blair had hoped for. She and her family took a cruise through Milford Sound, which was one of Blair’s favorite experiences during her visit. They sailed through towering fjords and waterfalls that looked like something out of a movie. The rain the day before made the waterfalls even more dramatic.

Blair recalls one memory that greatly stood out to her and her family. While cruising around the South Island one day, they stopped along the road when they saw a man feeding deer. He owned a massive deer farm and invited Blair and her family onto his land. He allowed them to explore his mountain property, where hundreds of deer, goats, and even woolly pigs roamed freely. At one point, he called the deer, and Blair guessed nearly 300 of them ran toward the truck.

The family also went hiking up a steep trail beside a waterfall, rode a gondola, visited a lavender farm and strawberry fields, took a vintage steamboat that once carried sheep, and even stumbled upon a classic car show filled with vintage cars imported from Italy. Blair was surrounded by wildlife, agriculture, mountains, and water, but she truly appreciated the people there who were friendly and welcoming.

“Before we left for my wish, I had been struggling in college and just felt overwhelmed by daily life and constantly managing my heart condition. So to go from college to having the time of my life was really cool,” says Blair. “It was a much-needed break for my family. It was good just to step away from our lives and spend time together somewhere really special.”

New Zealand made Blair feel like she wasn’t the college student with the heart condition, but rather just a teenager exploring the world with her family. Other wish kids in Wyoming are waiting to feel like a kid again through the power of a wish. You can help grant wishes that offer adventure and joy by donating or referring a child to Make-A-Wish Wyoming today.