The Finlaysons, including Wish Kid Liam (second from left) at Disney World in January 2024. (Supplied)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

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Local Wish families want YOU to sign up for September’s Make-A-Wish Heroes Challenge in Red Deer

Aug 17, 2024 | 4:14 PM

There’s still time to become a Make-A-Wish superstar ahead of this September’s Heroes Challenge, taking place in Red Deer.

The event will pit teams of six, including Wish Kid captains, against one another in sports-related challenges, Sept. 18 at The Dome. There’s also an after-party at Bo’s.

The deadline to register is Sept. 1, and each team is expected to raise $5,000, or about half the cost to grant one wish. There are more than 40 kids on the waitlist in the Red Deer region alone, hoping their’s will be granted sooner than later.

For Red Deer’s inaugural Heroes Challenge, two of the Wish Kids taking part will be Liam and Isaac, both of whom recently took trips to Florida — to Disney World and Universal Studios, respectively.

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Liam, 13, has a brain tumour and has undergone 69 rounds of chemotherapy. He was presented with his wish at a Red Deer Rebels game last December.

Isaac, also 13, had to go undergo chemo for kidney cancer, which is thankfully now in remission; he was presented his wish at an Edmonton Riverhawks baseball game.

“When you have a child diagnosed with cancer, your world kind of stops. It’s daunting to say the least, and you live day-to-day. For six months, we lived in and out of the hospital,” says Stacey Wilk, Isaac’s mom, who agrees the trip to Florida gave her the wish of seeing a smile back on her son’s face.

Stacy Wilk and son Isaac, a Wish Kid who recently got to visit Universal Studios in Florida. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“One thing about the Make-A-Wish Foundation which I appreciate in particular is that it includes the whole family, so that siblings don’t get left in the dust. I sort of feel like my daughter was neglected during the hospital process and she was just five, so she didn’t understand what was going on.”

Says Isaac, who wants to be a pilot: “I remember a little bit of my stay in the hospital. I remember it was a lot of needles and stuff. Make-A-Wish is really good because it gives kids something to look forward to.”

Isaac was in leg braces due to the chemo wreaking havoc, but has since come out of them and currently only deals with minimal discomfort. He’ll still have to be monitored for seven years, his mom notes.

Liam, meantime, got to spend his time down south in January with younger brother Carter, among the rest of his family.

“The trip meant a lot because it took a while for me to actually be ready to go. This has been a huge part of my life with a year-and-a-half of chemotherapy; then going to do all that in Florida was probably the best time of my life,” says Liam.

“The trip was pretty relaxed except for the very extreme roller coasters, which I did go on. The villa is really nice and had lots of nice places to go and do stuff.”

At the recent RVDA golf tournament, benefiting Make-A-Wish, Wish Kid Liam Finlayson shares the story of his 12-foot long string of beads — black for every time he got ‘poked’ with a needle, white for each chemotherapy treatment, blue for every hospital visit, yellow for every hospital stay, and green for each MRI. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

Liam’s parents Paul and Danielle strongly encourage work and friend groups to sign up for the Heroes Challenge.

“These trips and other wishes are something to keep them going through everything, knowing that at the finish line, it’s there,” says Paul. “These children need these wishes; they go through so much and they need something to look forward to while still in their hospital bed. If you’re a company who wants to do this, it’d be very helpful.”

“Just to see the smiles finally on him and his brother,” adds Danielle. “His brother sacrificed a lot too for that time.”

When at places such as Disney World and Universal Studios, there are usually no lines for Make-A-Wish guests, and families stay at the Give Kids The World Village, a non-profit resort in Florida.

Liam and Isaac agree that the cookies, ice cream and other treats available for guests at the resort are top-notch.

To register for the Heroes Challenge, visit makeawish.ca, and don’t delay!

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