Ingram-Thurston: How you can help a special local child by supporting Make A Wish

We learn about wishes while we are still young children.

All we had to do was make a wish and blow out the candles on our birthday cake. We can still remember that feeling of possibility, the thrill of hope we got believing our heart’s desire would come true.

Try imaging you are a critically ill child who has known pain, fear, and frustration. Hope and wishes are hard to think about when you are very ill.

Now imagine being the parent who has to watch their child suffer. Think of how important it would be to see your child be happy, to smile.

For these parents their wish is wanting their child to be well and to live a normal life. Their wish is to do anything they can to make their child happy.

The Make a Wish Foundation understands both the wishes of these critically ill children and the wishes of their parents.

The foundation has worked tirelessly to help critically ill children get their wishes to come true since its formation in 1981.

My first connection with the Make a Wish Foundation was about 15 years ago when the granddaughter of a good friend had a heart transplant. After Shelby Gundry recovered from her complex surgery she wanted her family to go on a Disney Cruise.

When the Make a Wish Foundation granted Shelby’s wish, the family, for the first time in years, had a chance to relax and just enjoy each other.

The story of Los Banos’s little Emily Rose has been the topic of several of my columns as of late. Diagnosed just a few weeks after her birth with the rare condition of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency(SCID), she has endured more pain and challenges than we can imagine.

I have known Emily’s story from the beginning and have kept in touch with her mother, Cynthea Hobbs, as Emily has gone through so much of her young life in isolation, and then finally made it home.

When Cynthea told me of Emily’s wish and her plans to contact the Make a Wish Foundation I knew this was a story to share.

To find out more about this foundation of hope I interviewed Michele Sanders, vice president of strategic communications for Make a Wish of Northern and Central California and Northern Nevada.

Michele joined Make a Wish in 2012 . She shared some of the group’s history.

“ It all began with the wish of 13-year-old Christopher Greicias who was suffering with leukemia. His big wish was to be in law enforcement.

His family were distraught about how this could be made possible, but they were determined that Chris should get his wish. They talked to friends and neighbors and they spread the word.

Their efforts led to Chris being sworn in as the only honorary Arizona state trooper. Seeing the joy in Chris’s eyes when his wish was granted the foundation was created as a basis for hope on April 29, 1980, now known as World Wish Day.

Since that day over 500,000 wishes have become reality. One of those wishes was the first presidential wish, granted to Amy by President Ronald Reagan in 1983.”

Sanders further shared that since her chapter started in 1985 it has grown to cover 45 counties in Northern and Central California and Northern Nevada.

The chapter has granted more than 9,000 wishes to children battling critical illness. The foundation’s 500,000th wish was granted to a child in her chapter.

Michelle told me that there are an amazing group of volunteers in our area who have helped the chapter greatly in their wish granting efforts by fundraising to fulfill Merced County Wishes.

Their fundraising event, “Wishes and Dreams,” is now in its 14th year. Like so many other volunteer groups, they are having to be creative with all their planning due to COVID-19, making sure to keep within COVID social distancing guidelines.

While the event is scheduled for May 22, chairperson Sammi Shamer, tells me she will not be able to share details until my column next week. So more news to follow.

Los Banos has been touched 170 times with the gift of fulfilled wishes and currently we have the wishes of eight children qualified, but not yet granted.

One of those wishes is Emily Rose’s wish for a French bulldog puppy.

Cynthea Hoobs, Emily Rose’s, mother said, ”Our family used to have a French bulldog, Emily has seen pictures of it and has said how much she wants one. It will be wonderful for Emily to have something special to love. We are so grateful for the Make a Wish Foundation. Knowing all that little Emily has been through, I know how much she deserves to get her wish fulfilled. We are also happy for all the other children that the organization is able to help.”

Save the date

Exciting news! The Los Banos Downtown Association is sponsoring Mother’s Day at the Park on May 8th and 9th. It will be held at Pacheco Park.

This fun Arts and Crafts Fair will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. I am told there will be Arts & Crafts booths, food trucks, railroad train rides, a children’s area and much more. More details to come. Let’s support our local activities!

The Wild West will be coming to town when the Los Banos Downtown Association presents their Wild West Casino Night on May 29th.

There will be games, music, a live auction and no host bar. The fun will take place at the Lopess Barn located at 17409 Cotton Road.

The doors will open at 6 pm and dinner will be served from 6 until 10 p.m., $60 per ticket or $500 for a table of 8. Call 710-9002.

And get a load of this explosive news!

The Los Banos Downtown Association will be hosting the 2021 Fireworks Show and Community Celebration!!!! After too many years of darkness the popular celebration is returning. It will be held on Saturday July 3rd at Henry Miller Plaza. Come and enjoy fun, food for sale, music, games and of course, the fireworks.