An Extraordinary Wish

Emma (left) with her friend, Levi.

When Levi Mayhew was five years old, he could do most of the things other five year old boys could do - run and jump and participate in sports. But a year later, that little boy has a different reality - he can no longer sit on his own, talk, and he is losing his sight. His health is deteriorating as a result of a rare genetic disorder on the ZELLWEGER SPECTRUM. At most, he may only have two years of life left.

However, Levi wasn't alone at his school in Martinsville, Indiana. Ten-year-old Emma Broyer became his companion, greeting him with enthusiasm, bringing him to his classroom, making cheerful drawings and paintings for him, and encouraging her classmates to bring him small gifts and cards. She has been a bright light in Levi's days. As mom Rebecca Drake says, "Emma was one of the few people who could bring him genuine joy.... They had attended the same school at the time of Levi's diagnosis. Since finding out about his condition, Emma has written Levi letters of encouragement and has asked her friends to do the same."



So, when MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION got in touch with Levi, he had an unusual wish. He wanted his friend Emma to have his wish - to go to Disney World. The big reveal took place at a surprise party, held at a local restaurant. Emma had been out shopping with her grandparents and believed she would be meeting her parents for dinner. Instead, her friends and family were all gathered together and when she spotted Levi, she went over to greet him, which calmed down his anticipatory excitement. Levi had a gift for her and she found a Disney World t-shirt inside, complete with the wish he wanted her to have.

If wishes could come true, Emma would have wanted her friend Levi to have been on this trip with her, but he was too weak to travel with her. So, she decided to make a cardboard Levi to take with her to Florida, where she had never been before.

It was sort of like the story book character "Flat Stanley"; this was Flat Levi, a cardboard boy with Levi's face on it. And Flat Levi went everywhere with her - into the ocean, on all the rides she could get onto, and even into the cockpit of the plane on which she flew. Many pictures were taken and placed in a scrapbook to be shared with Levi's family. Of such things, a special friendship is made!

Emma on the plane with her homemade Flat Levi.

Thanks to this article from Kindness Blog: http://kindnessblog.com/2015/05/06/a-terminally-ill-6-year-old-boy-decides-to-do-something-very-special-with-his-make-a-wish-gift/; and this article from WTHR: http://www.wthr.com/story/27598563/family-of-terminally-ill-indiana-boy-donates-wish-to-best-friend.

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