The Power of a Wish

Iris dreamed of snowflakes dropping gracefully from the sky like they do in her favorite movie, Frozen. She dreamed of snowmen, ice castles, snowball fights and powdery drifts.

And, Iris dreamed of being healthy again.

Iris was 9 years old when she was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a form of brain cancer that affects primarily children. She woke up one morning feeling nauseous and started to vomit. When she couldn’t stop, her parents, Kristen and Isaac Mitchell, took her to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Iris was released after her nausea subsided, but her condition worsened. She collapsed after playing soccer and could not pick herself back up.

Iris was rushed to the hospital, where she was given a CT scan that showed a dark mass on her brain. There was a tumor growing at the base of her skull. Surgery was performed to remove the tumor, and Iris then underwent radiation and chemotherapy. During her treatment, she lost her ability to walk or even stand.

“It broke my heart to see my child who was full of life, so full of energy, not be that same child,” said Isaac Mitchell.

Around her third round of chemo, Iris’ social worker told her parents that she was eligible for a wish through Make-A-Wish Central & Northern Florida. Her family applied and received the unforgettable call that Iris’ wish to see snow had been granted.

Photo courtesy of Make-A-Wish Foundation

The organization sent Iris’ family on a trip to Vermont, where they took skiing lessons, built snowmen — and breathed in peace. Iris’ wish coincided with the end of her fight against cancer.

“It helped me think, ‘Hey, we are out of the woods. We can get back to normal life. Just normalcy,’” Mitchell said.

Iron Man Meets His Hero

Quan’s wish comes true when he meets his hero, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson thanks to Make-A Wish Colorado. Photo courtesy of Make-A-Wish Colorado

Quan was a junior at Godby High School in March 2022 when his mother, Chantel Livingston, found him lying on the floor of their home. Quan looked up with bloodshot eyes; an arm had gone limp. At that moment, Chantel knew her son was having a stroke.

Quan was rushed to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where a blood clot was removed from his brain. Shortly after the procedure, he suffered a heart attack. That day, Quan’s mother received a call that her son had been pronounced dead for four minutes but that he had been revived by a team of doctors.

After his heart attack, Quan’s body filled with over 100 pounds of fluid. He was airlifted to Shands Hospital in Gainesville and was diagnosed with Left Ventricular Noncompaction Syndrome, a rare disease that had gone undetected in Quan since his birth. He would require a heart transplant.

Quan’s mother never left his side. She jokingly called him “Iron Man” because he had to be plugged into the wall at night and hooked up to batteries when he moved about. He underwent months of physical therapy and speech therapy and relearned how to say his last name. After an agonizing wait, Quan received a heart transplant in the summer of 2022 and was released from Shands after a full recovery.

Quan’s story was submitted to Make-A-Wish, who called his mother with the news that his wish to meet NFL quarterback Russell Wilson had been granted. He was invited to spend the day chatting and throwing the ball with the star athlete.

His mother shared that Quan’s wish helped him out of a dark place. It gave him the strength he needed to keep fighting.

↑ After undergoing a heart transplant, Make-A-Wish fulfilled Quan’s dream of meeting Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. Quan’s mother, Chantel, said the experience lifted her son from a dark place. Photo courtesy of Chantel Livingston

Resuming Normal Lives

Both Iris and Quan are excited for the next steps in their lives. Iris spends her time in the company of sweet friends, playing the violin and swimming for Florida State University School. Quan graduated from Godby High School in May of 2023 and plans to attend Tallahassee Community College in the fall, where he will study software engineering.

Iris and Quan are just two of the thousands of children Make-A-Wish has helped. Nonprofits everywhere exist to serve others, but none touches lives the way Make-A-Wish does.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the supporters and donors. Keep giving because you really gave me and my family something we thought we lost. You gave us our baby back,” Kristen Mitchell said.

To learn more about the Make-A-Wish Foundation or to make a donation, visit wish.org.