Brayden "Child in the Spotlight"

The little 4 year old boy sitting in front of me didn't look sick or act sick, and seemed like every other rambunctious 4 year old I'd ever seen. Brayden was sick though, he had a serious heart condition at birth, and had already had 2 surgeries to try and correct it. The first was when he was only 2 weeks old; the second surgery was when he was 2 years old. This last surgery was just after his 4th birthday. The hope was that this surgery would succeed where the others had not, and that Brayden would get to live a full long normal life. His mother Heather gave me a DVD they had made of Brayden throughout his little life chronicling all his hospital experiences. I still haven't been able to watch it. Brayden did however give me a picture of himself dressed up as a cowboy and sitting on a pony. I asked him to autograph it for me, and he drew a B, a heart, and a sun that looked like a spider with 3 legs. I cherish that photo. 

His wish for his final surgery to correct the defect was to have an IPOD loaded with his favorite music so he could sleep while he was in the PICU. It is so noisy there, with lights and beeping monitors, and people in and out of the room; he just couldn't relax and sleep.

Wishes for Children was able to provide an IPOD and the week's stay at The Ronald Mc Donald House for his parents, so they could be with Brayden while he was in the hospital. Wishes for Children also gave Brayden's parents funds, so they could put the gas in their car and buy groceries during that trip to Children's Hospital.

The donations Wishes for Children gets from the events we hold and the generosity of the community are instrumental in our being able to provide a WISH or a Dream for a child and give them the memory they'll cherish forever.