Cory Metz went from CT Make-A-Wish recipient to volunteer and author whose book will fund more wishes

It’s been 13 years since Cory Metz was an ill child who had a wish granted by Make-A-Wish Connecticut, but the organization remains at the forefront of his heart and his life.

“I feel a kind of life debt to the foundation,” Metz said. “Make-A-Wish meant everything at that time, and it still does.”

He went from recipient to volunteer, including as a “wish granter,” and now he’s written a book about his experiences in hopes of raising money for the organization.

All the profits from the book will be donated to the organization.

In “More Than a Wish: My Life and Stories from the Make-A-Wish Foundation,” Metz writes about his illness, what the wish meant to him and his experiences with other kids.

“I wrote the book to show there’s life after your illness,” Metz said.

When a child is in a hospital all day every day with surrounded by parents and doctors, isolated without friends, that wish helps buoy hope for the future, he said.

Metz was healthy, athletic and popular, when he developed spinal cord tumors at 13 years old. He had surgery that left him with a limp — he now walks with a cane — although some of the nonmalignant tumors remain. At age 17 he had a seizure and doctors discovered tumors on his brain and put a shunt in to drain fluid.

“I had to learn to live as a disabled person,” he said.

So far his life hasn’t been affected by the remaining tumors, he said, and doctors have decided to leave them alone without treatment unless they grow. Metz has an MRI every six months.

“I never got back to perfect health,” he said, noting he takes medication for seizures. “But I still live my life relatively normal. I’ve never gotten to the point where I’m not living my life.”

Metz’s wish was granted in 2009 when he went to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game to meet his favorite player, the Mets’ David Wright. He also got to meet President Barack Obama, who threw the first pitch at that game.

“We got to meet all the players, get their autographs,” he said. “It was amazing —something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Metz, a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, works as an administrative assistant for a union office, but in his off time, he does a lot of volunteer work for Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Kris Moran, spokesperson for Make-A-Wish Connecticut said Metz is “honest and open,” in the book.

“I think it’s an incredible story and it’s wonderful that he shared it,” Moran said. “It’s great that it’s available for other kids.”

One of Metz’s favorite volunteer roles is that of a “wish granter.”

In that role he helps the child figure out their wish, the office figures out logistics, and he returns to the family with the news, throws a party and explains how it will work.

He’s granted 14 wishes — he talks about some in the book — and hopes the proceeds from the book will actually pay for a wish someday.

“I say it’s better to give a wish than receive one,” Metz said.

Aside from the most popular wish — a trip to Disney — he’s connected kids to sports events, backyard playscapes and celebrities.

Dianne Ball of Wallingford said Metz did an awesome job with her daughter, Charlie Elliott, after brain tumor surgery.

Elliott ultimately met actress Emma Watson in London. It took a while to work out, so in the meantime, Metz gave the girl concert tickets to keep her going.

“It really kept her mind off of things and replaced negative with positive memories,” Ball said. “He kept checking in with her. He’s been a really good role model for my daughter.”

The book, Ball said, was an easy read.

“I thought Cory did a fantastic job with the book,” Ball said.

Katie Vandrilla of Bristol, a wish kid herself during treatment for leukemia, also remains active in the organization and wrote two children’s books to raise money for the organization.

Vandrilla, a high school chemistry teacher, had her wish granted when she met Johnny Depp in London on the set of “Dark Shadows” and also her favorite director, Tim Burton.

She said Depp’s movies helped her get through the illness, like two-hour escapes.

Depp wrote her a “gorgeous note,” she said, when he learned she had dedicated her first book to him, and he wrote the forward in her second book.

She’s granted more than 30 wishes, knows Metz well and loves his book.

“I thought it was great,” Vandrilla said. “It is honest, has a lot of humor.”

Metz wants the book to convey that there is “life after illness. He said while his health outcome wasn’t “ideal,” there are kids who “have tougher stories than me.”

Metz said the self-published book took seven years to complete and was more difficult than he expected.

“As tough as my health stuff was, writing the book was harder to do,” he said.

The book, $13.99 or $9.99 for Kindle, can be ordered through Amazon.