We really did not comprehend what we were about to experience when we took Nico to meet his Wish Grantors at the Make-A-Wish Utah headquarters. Over the phone, his Wish Grantor asked me a few questions about what Nico likes, but I did not realize how closely he was listening. When we got to the front door, there was a yellow balloon (Nico’s favorite color) and a personalized sign welcoming him. Inside, there were huge displays of Lightening McQueen, Mater and Mickey Mouse along with more yellow balloons. And when his Wish Grantors greeted us upon entry, we found one of the Wish Grantors was actually Buzz Lightyear! How many kids get Buzz as their Wish Grantor? Nico was thrilled. While he was initially shy, and referred to Buzz as “Space Ranger,” after he saw the giant displays of his very favorite things on earth, he was running amok and yelling “Look! Look! Look, Buzz!” Outside was a wishing pond and foot bridges and it just got cooler the more we looked. The ceiling is covered with stars of children who were all granted a wish and when Nico’s wish is granted, he will raise a star too.
After Buzz presented Nico with a bag of goodies, including a character from the Cars movie, a Matchbox car and other various things he adores, we talked about what Nico loves. Then everyone wrote his and her personal wish for Nico on a slip of paper and we helped Nico write his own wish down too. We then rolled up the slip of paper with Nico’s wish, and slipped it into this bronze canister that felt very heavy and serious. Nico was presented with an old fashioned and magical looking skeleton key and we went to the wishing room to declare Nico’s wish. Once in this room, which was like standing before Oz, everyone present read to Nico our individual wishes for him. Jeff’s included Nico playing first-line center on the US Olympic Hockey Team, and this provided some comic relief to an otherwise emotional experience. Then we took this heavy bronze canister and followed blocks of light that lit up on the floor. These lights led us to another strange conical bronze receptacle and we slipped our wish inside. We then took this bronze cone and followed the light once more to another strangely shaped bronze receptacle. Once the second and third containers were joined, it formed a giant bronze wizard’s hat and Nico’s wish was received!
It was fun, emotional, overwhelming and super-cool. After this ceremony, we had ice cream and cookies with Buzz (and filled out a lot of paperwork). Now, we will wait and see what the wizard’s hat grants Nico! There is no hurry since he still has a difficult phase of chemo ahead.
The Wish Coordinator of the Utah Make-A-Wish was guiding us throughout and at one point, seeing how excited Nico was, said, “I think declaring his wish might have been his wish!” What an amazing experience. Thank you, thank you, thank you Make-A-Wish! One of Nico’s two Wish Grantors (Buzz Lightyear) was a recipient of a Make-A-Wish wish himself. He had bone cancer as a teen. His wish was to meet Journey, and he did! He wanted to become a Wish Grantor once able, and Nico is the first child for whom he plays this role. Nico’s other Wish Grantor was the Wish Grantor for the other (Buzz)! And she became emotional as she explained their relationship. This was very special for all of us.
So after feeding Buzz cookies and ice cream, Nico gave him a huge hug and we left. It was a happy experience and we are very grateful for it.
P.S. There are some pics and videos after this post (on warriornico.com), but they are almost all out of focus because Nico was too excited to standstill.
After Buzz presented Nico with a bag of goodies, including a character from the Cars movie, a Matchbox car and other various things he adores, we talked about what Nico loves. Then everyone wrote his and her personal wish for Nico on a slip of paper and we helped Nico write his own wish down too. We then rolled up the slip of paper with Nico’s wish, and slipped it into this bronze canister that felt very heavy and serious. Nico was presented with an old fashioned and magical looking skeleton key and we went to the wishing room to declare Nico’s wish. Once in this room, which was like standing before Oz, everyone present read to Nico our individual wishes for him. Jeff’s included Nico playing first-line center on the US Olympic Hockey Team, and this provided some comic relief to an otherwise emotional experience. Then we took this heavy bronze canister and followed blocks of light that lit up on the floor. These lights led us to another strange conical bronze receptacle and we slipped our wish inside. We then took this bronze cone and followed the light once more to another strangely shaped bronze receptacle. Once the second and third containers were joined, it formed a giant bronze wizard’s hat and Nico’s wish was received!
It was fun, emotional, overwhelming and super-cool. After this ceremony, we had ice cream and cookies with Buzz (and filled out a lot of paperwork). Now, we will wait and see what the wizard’s hat grants Nico! There is no hurry since he still has a difficult phase of chemo ahead.
The Wish Coordinator of the Utah Make-A-Wish was guiding us throughout and at one point, seeing how excited Nico was, said, “I think declaring his wish might have been his wish!” What an amazing experience. Thank you, thank you, thank you Make-A-Wish! One of Nico’s two Wish Grantors (Buzz Lightyear) was a recipient of a Make-A-Wish wish himself. He had bone cancer as a teen. His wish was to meet Journey, and he did! He wanted to become a Wish Grantor once able, and Nico is the first child for whom he plays this role. Nico’s other Wish Grantor was the Wish Grantor for the other (Buzz)! And she became emotional as she explained their relationship. This was very special for all of us.
So after feeding Buzz cookies and ice cream, Nico gave him a huge hug and we left. It was a happy experience and we are very grateful for it.
P.S. There are some pics and videos after this post (on warriornico.com), but they are almost all out of focus because Nico was too excited to standstill.
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