Make-A-Wish® Illinois Chapter

Samuel

Florida Trip Makes For A Very Special Birthday

A very energetic 7-year-old, Samuel loves to run and play in his hometown of Round Lake. His hobbies include playing video games, watching cartoons & Transformers, playing with action figure toys and practicing karate. Samuel is unique in his interests and his wish was just as unique. His favorite story is Little Red Riding Hood and his favorite music comes from the movie The Lion King. What fuels this little tike so full of energy you might ask? It seems Samuel likes just about anything sweet; his favorites range from cinnamon rolls and chocolate kisses to popsicles and cherry cake.

When Samuel was born, he was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. He has had two-open heart surgeries but his mother says that his spirit has been unaffected, so much so that if you met him, you would never know that he has an illness.

 "He's very happy and outgoing," she said and added that he has no problem keeping up with peers at school or on the playground.

Perhaps one of the most unique qualities Samuel possesses is his thoughtfulness. When asked what he wanted the most, Samuel wished to have a birthday breakfast with Snow White. His mother later asked him if that was really what he wanted and his reply was, no, that was for his little sister!

Besides being such a thoughtful big brother, Samuel also loves superheroes and he got the chance to meet all of his favorites and more in just one week. Make-A-Wish was able to give Samuel a very memorable 7^th birthday by sending him and his family to Florida to visit Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and the other Florida theme parks. Along with meeting his favorites Spiderman and Captain America, Samuel also met nearly every character that calls Disney World home. When we asked the spunky 7-year-old what he liked the most, he excitedly said "Everything!"

"It was wonderful!" his mother said enthusiastically. "Everybody had a good time!"

"I think everybody at the-Make-A-Wish-Foundation and at Give Kids The World is just wonderful," Samuel's mother said. "It was a very good birthday gift. We'll never forget it!"