The first time someone suggested Make-A-Wish Foundation to Jennifer Gallegos for her daughter, Kaitlyn, she wasn't interested. "Because I had always heard that Make-A-Wish was for terminal cases, I was, like, "Nope. Not gonna do it," " she said.
That was in 2001. Kaitlyn - she's Katy now - had her first surgery for a brain tumor in May that year, a few months before she turned 5. "They initially told us that this was inoperable," Gallegos said.
But not all Wish kids are terminal, says Megan Szydloski, communications manager for Make-A-Wish North Texas. One example is Kristin Huber, the development officer in the Lubbock Make-A-Wish office, whose wish was to go to Walt Disney World Resort in 1998.
"The most significant part of the wish for my family and me was that it allowed me to be a kid again for an entire week," Huber said. "When an illness or disease strikes a child, they are forced to grow up rather quickly. For the week I was at Disney, I forgot I was sick and got to enjoy life as a child once again."
After extensive therapy and rehabilitation, Katy's wish was to go to the Academy of Country Music Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas in 2006.
"I am a very big fan of Country music," Katy says now. "It kind of gave me my life back. It inspired me to talk again." She had lost that ability after a surgery and responded well to music during therapy, her mom said.
We'll assume that at that age, perhaps the full implication of the song that caught her attention did not register, but it was Toby Keith's smash hit As Good As I Once Was. She's 16 now, a sophomore at Byron Nelson High School in the Northwest ISD, a member of the choir and looking forward to getting a driver's license.
When the surgeries started, Katy was too young to even know to be afraid. "She just knew she had a boo-boo in her head, and they were going to take it out," her mother said. But there were other operations when the tumor re-grew and a new one showed up. So how does Katy cope with that? "God," Katy says, "and, of course, Country music."
In Las Vegas, Kaitlyn got to meet established and upcoming stars, sang along with Reba McEntire and got many autographs. "Kenny Chesney kissed me on the head three times," she said.
The surprise of the evening - to everyone - came when Vince Gill received the Home Depot Humanitarian Award and called Kaitlyn to the stage. "I've been with a few Make-A-Wish children over the years, and I got so much more out of that meeting those kids than they ever will; so in honor of the giving spirit, I give you this tonight and say God bless you," Gill said, handing her his award to a standing ovation. You can see that presentation on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=3i5POedNBlA.
It's no surprise she'd like to be a country singer. She fell short in a first audition for The Voice but plans to try again. And if that doesn't work out, she'd like to be a chef. Don't bet against her.
FYI
Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas
Fort Worth Chapter
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.
3509 Hulen St., Ste. 200
Fort Worth, TX 76107
817.336.9474
