'A light in the darkness': Wish-granting group hosts a gathering to cherish at Akron Zoo

Families, bundled in winter coats, filed into the Akron Zoo's main entrance, ready to enjoy a time of admiring the denizens of animals at the zoo under thousands of holiday lights.

This isn't an unusual scene at the Akron Zoo, but those coming to the zoo Saturday evening after the close of public hours all had two things in common. The families had children and teens who have faced significant, life-threatening illnesses. And all of them were beneficiaries of Wishes Can Happen, a nonprofit organization in North Canton that strives to make dreams come true for children who are facing medical challenges.

Take the Cheronis family in Hartville. About a year ago, their oldest son Christian, now 14, was diagnosed with Wilson's disease — a rare genetic disorder in which copper builds up in the body. This can cause damage to the liver, brain and eyes.

"We didn't know Christian had it until this time last year, hen he started turning yellow," said mom Christina. "After numerous tests, he was diagnosed. On New Years Eve last year, he had to have a liver transplant."

Because the condition is inherited, Christian's three brothers also were tested. Brother Nathaniel, 12, tested negative, but the two youngest brothers, Micah, 9, and Luca, who proudly said he will be 4 in two weeks, also were diagnosed with Wilson's Disease.

"It's been a really difficult road," said Christina. Both younger boys are also now on medications to help stave off the impact of the disorder. Because Luca was diagnosed so early, he may be able to avoid a transplant but Micah already has signs of liver cirrhosis. 'We are praying and hoping that God will heal them."

This past summer, through Wishes Can Happen, the family was able to travel to Disney World and Universal Studios as well as spend the day at the beach.

Christian has been doing well since his operation, Christina said.

"He started soccer again in the fall," she said.

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Organization has been making wishes happen for 40 years

Wishes Can Happen, which started in 1982, generally grants about 1,500 wishes to children and teens facing serious medical challenges. Wishes have included anything from a playground, a gathering place and book nook, or renovated bedroom to opportunities to meet favorite sports players and going to Disney World.

This past year has been exceptionally busy, said Madelyn Sweeney, the longtime community relations director and wish coordinator with the organization.

"This year, we've had 35% more wishes than we've ever had before," Sweeney said. "It was a crazy wish year."

Wishes Can Happen does not put recipients of a waiting list; the organization's volunteers pivot quickly to grant wishes to young people with serious illnesses. For example, earlier on the day of the Akron Zoo excursion, Sweeney went with a family of a 16-year-old on a "rush wish" request received just two days earlier. The teen and his family had been told by medical staff that he only had a short time left. So Wishes Can Happen set up a gaming van for him to enjoy with friends behind a Red Lobster, his favorite restaurant. The following day, he went on a shopping spree in Pennsylvania, with the trip including a drive through Oglebay Park in West Virginia to see the Christmas Light displays.

"We were able to move very quickly," Sweeney said.

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Dr. Jeffrey Hord, the director of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at Akron Children's Hospital, said that when a child or teen faces a serious diagnosis, it can have a widespread impact.

"It affects not only the patients, but their siblings and the parents, the families," Hord said.

Challenges could include lengthy hospital stays, difficult treatments, financial strain and isolation.

He said special event put together by Wishes Can Happen can bring a sense of normalcy to patients who may be missing out on milestone occasions such as proms, birthdays and holidays. And it gives them a chance to see their care teams in a different light.

"It's good for the patients to see us outside of the hospital," Hord said. "And it's good for us, too, to see them."

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Disney princesses, superheroes greet families

Families had the opportunity Saturday to take photos with one of several Disney princesses, a superhero, or Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper. Children could give Santa their wish lists and take photos with him. Families could also enjoy the zoo exhibits and carousel. Cookies and hot cocoa awaited them at the Komodo Kingdom Cafe.

The 4,000 assorted cookies were all baked and donated by Vanessa Evans of Canton, whose son CJ had been a recipient of a wish from Wishes Can Happen when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 aplastic astrocytoma, a type of brain cancer, at age 12. The family, Evans said, knew someone who had died from brain cancer who also had been a wish recipient.

For his wish trip, CJ and his mom went with four friends to California to see the site of Fantasy Factory, one of CJ's favorite television shows. They were in California for a week, and also were able to enjoy other sites, including dinner aboard the Queen Mary.

CJ's cancer went to remission, Evans said, but more than that, the trip changed him.

"It shaped the person he became," Evans said. "He wanted to do things for other people."

CJ would go on to organize fundraisers for Akron Children's Hospital, Project Ed Bear and Wishes Can Happen, Evans said. He frequently helped Sweeney with the wishes.

Unfortunately, when he was 19, CJ was diagnosed with another form of malignant brain tumor.

"It was in the radiation path," Evans said. CJ died two years later from complications of brain cancer in 2019.

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Wishes Can Happen families share challenges, successes

Activities sponsored by Wishes Can Happen such as the Akron Zoo are a treasured respite for families with children struggling with critical medical issues, said Katie Keating of Ashland. Katie and husband, Todd, first connected with the organization after their youngest child, Bobby, now 6, was diagnosed with cancer five years ago. He is now in remission.

"We had his five-year appointment yesterday," Keating said. "Babies, you don't think they'd get [cancer],] but they do."

When asked what he had been looking forward to most at the zoo, Bobby's response was quick: "Santa!"

"I'm just grateful, I love it," Keating said. "We are a family of seven, so it's nice that they do these."

Jared Rippl, 23, and a Wishes Can Happen beneficiary, said he was diagnosed with stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma at age 16. This is a cancer that impacts the muscles in the trunk and other areas, and patients diagnosed with it generally have a poor prognosis.

"They told my family I had a few months," said Rippl, who grew up in Canton and now lives in Columbus, where he works as an electrical project manager.

Rippl said his main wish was survival. "My main focus was staying alive."

Wishes Can Happen arranged a shopping spree for Rippl, who has done radio interviews on the organization.

"I bought a lot of stuff," said Rippl, who defied the grim odds and went into remission after undergoing chemotherapy treatments for about two years. "I still enjoy it to this day."

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Cam Betz, who turn 10 on Dec. 17, had his first heart surgery on Christmas Eve the year he was born.

He was diagnosed with hypoplastic right heart syndrome, which means he was missing the right side of his heart, said mom Kristin Betz. Cam would need three more surgeries to repair his heart, with the final surgery done when he was 4½.

In 2016, the family went to Disney World for a week. Cam said he loved the roller coasters there. When he grows up, he said, he wants to be an NFL player or an anesthesiologist.

"They are a blessing," said Kristin Betz of Wishes can Happen. "They give us the opportunity to be a family, and not worry about anything."

Ava Turner, 15, of Stow, and a freshman at Stow-Munroe Falls High School, said she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 5. She, too, went to Disney World for her wish trip.

Ava said the trip was a way to have fun and forget about treatments and hospitals for a time.

"It gives kids the chance to now think about anything and just be a kid," said Ava, who went into remission at age 6.

While she was there, Ava said she was even given a makeover, including a wig.

"A lot of people stared at me when I was bald," she said. "With the wig, I felt more like a normal kid."

Ava said that she may go into psychology or go into a field where she can help those on the autism spectrum, adding that her brother was autistic.

"This is an amazing, amazing group of people," Ava said. "They were a light in the darkness."

For details on Wishes Can Happen, visit wishescanhappen.org, or call 330-966-0043.

Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Wishes Can Happen families enjoy holiday outing at Akron Zoo