Kyle Shea knew there was some sort of surprise coming—he just had no idea how big it would be. The 15-year-old Pioneer Valley freshman who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease saw his wish come true, thanks to the Make-a-Wish foundation.
“It was very shocking,” Kyle said. “I had an idea [there was something planned], but I thought it would be later on that night. And smaller.”
With the help of Blake Colvin, a former Wish Kid who now raises money for other Make-a-Wish kids through her organization “Cupcakes for Cancer,” Kyle received his wish for “electronics” at a party on Jan. 31.
Kyle’s gifts included a Nintendo Wii and several games, a 42-inch LCD television, an iPod touch, a Nikon digital camera, and six months of high speed Internet and cable.
Kyle’s mom, Joan, said that when her son was first diagnosed, she didn’t think they needed Make-a-Wish for him. But many surgeries and procedures followed—so many, she said, that the hospital staff got to know Kyle on sight.
When asked if he had a favorite out of the gifts he received, Kyle—who’s been playing Guitar Hero: World Tour since that surprising Saturday—said his Wii and iPod are close runners for first place, and he’d already filled up the latter with music. m
Contributor Nicholas Walter compiled this week’s Community Corner. Send items for consideration to his executive editor at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 5-12, 2009.
