Make-A-Wish Michigan is celebrating a big milestone this month. The non-profit is known for creating life-changing wishes for children facing critical illnesses.
The organization granted its 11,500th wish, and I had a chance to talk with one special wish kid one-on-one earlier this week.
It was all smiles this week at the Big House for 8-year-old Thor Alford, who wished for a VIP trip to a Michigan football game, and Make-A-Wish Michigan delivered.
"What was the highlight of the whole experience if you had to pick one moment?” I asked Thor.
“Meeting JJ McCarthy," he said.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy even posted the pre-game moment saying, "My man Thor got me right with that pep talk," and even tossed Thor a special gift – McCarthy's wristband.
He also received an autographed football signed by head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Thor's whole family came with him from Walker, Mich., just west of Grand Rapids. It's a trip they'd been looking forward to since Thor's cancer treatment.
“He was basically in the hospital for seven months," Thor's dad, Chris, said.
Thor was diagnosed on Oct. 15, 2022, with a blood and bone marrow cancer called acute myeloid leukemia, or AML. The family connected with Make-A-Wish Michigan while Thor was still undergoing treatment.
"So, when he was in the hospital, he would play trivia. They had trivia, you know, in the hospital, and he would always make his name J.J. McCarthy. So he's been attached for a long time," Chris said.
Creating a wish for a true Wolverines fan was the gameplan, and it was go-time on Sept. 9 when U-M took on UNLV at home.
The team from Sports Talk 1050 WTKA The Ticket even invited Thor to join them during their pregame broadcast, which was followed up by a visit to the press box.
"He loved meeting John Jansen and Doug Karsch. He thought that was fantastic. And when he was sitting in the booth, he just looked like a natural. He looked like one of their spotters, you know, looking at the field," Chris said.
“What was it like watching him have his wish granted?” I asked.
"You know, it was really a special day for us," his mom, Kristen, said. ”Just being able to have a fun day versus a day where we had to go back in for testing or, you know, just, just having something really special was, it was meaningful to us as a family.”
Make-A-Wish Michigan's President and CEO Michael Hull said an estimated 800 Michigan children will be diagnosed with a critical illness alone. Since January, the organization has granted 475 wishes, the most it has granted in its 39-year history.
“When you were looking ahead to 2023, and you realized, oh my goodness, we may grant our 11,500th wish, what went through your mind?” I asked.
“We were so excited. We always try to guess, what’s the child going to be like. What is going to be that milestone wish for us. And it really is something powerful for our team because they’re just incredible, and they work so hard to make these wishes happen," Hull said.
"What would you tell other kids out there who may be going through a tough time?” I asked Thor.
“I'd say you probably will get a wish, and it's going to be great," he said.
Thor is now in remission and his family told me they originally thought Make-A-Wish only granted wishes to terminally-ill patients, but that's not the case.
The organization aims to help critically ill children by bringing hope to help get them through whatever is going on in their life.
If you'd like to see if your child is eligible, or to make a donation, you can visit Wish.org/Michigan.
