WXMI — While we all hunkered down this year and took extra steps to protect our lungs, for 13-year-old Julius, his daily life became a lot of our realities.
Julius has Cystic Fibrosis, a condition that affects digestion but also the lungs – an especially risky complication when navigating COVID-19.
“At first when we heard about it we were like ‘oh God, how is this going to affect our son, what do we need to do?’” said Julius’ mom Ranae. “It’s been over a year now where he’s been home and you know, so it’s been a struggle with that.”
While the world has come to a pause, doing so has been even more important for those with underlying conditions. But Julius has been optimistic throughout, and during one of his monthly trips downtown for treatment his doctor mentioned Make-A-Wish to the family.
“When you hear about Make A Wish you think like, ‘oh no is my son alright? Is something wrong with him? Is he going to make it, what’s going on?’” said Ranae.
IT’s a common association, but the truth is Make-A-Wish works with all types of people with a range of conditions. This was solely about rewarding a positive kid.
At first, Julius wanted to take a trip but COVID grounded that idea.
“So I just thought, okay, I’m going to go on a shopping spree,” said Julius. “But since we can’t go in person we did it online.”
Julius got a few things he needed – a bed and mattress – and a few things he didn’t, like a PlayStation5 and Nike shoes.
But what Julius is looking forward to most – more than any gift – is getting back to normal life.
“I guess I kind if took stuff for granted, but now you actually appreciate and enjoy the moments that you have so I’m really looking forward to seeing my friends, going back to school, and playing the sports I used to,” he said.
Special thanks to Value City Furniture who provided the bed and mattress.
