Dear Make A Wish,

My name is Tanner and I am 15 years old. I recently had a heart transplant after being sick since I was born. I was born with valves that were too small and this made my heart work too hard for 15 years and it couldn’t keep up anymore. The doctors at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said I would need a new heart and I was very lucky and got a good match. I am doing pretty well now but I do have to go back to CHOP for regular visits 1 - 2 times per month and sometimes stay overnight. I am very thankful for my donor and I feel bad that his or her family lost their loved one but I am grateful that they gave me my life back!

I am very good with computers and I want to be a programmer when I get older. I have saved my money over the years and last year I rebuilt a gaming computer. It is awesome! Even my computer teachers at school were impressed. I absolutely LOVE the Phillies and someday I would love the chance to go to Spring Training and see them in Florida. My room is a tribute to the Phillies and all of my friends are jealous! My mom and I worked on it for months and it turned out great.

I was recently awarded a trip to Orlando by the generous people who raise money for Make A Wish and I had the best time ever! I want to thank Make A Wish, Give Kids The World and all of the people who helped make my trip special from the bottom of my “new” heart. I bet you didn’t know I was a comedian too! To start the wish, we were picked up in a stretch limo which I have NEVER been in before so that was super cool. Then we were greeted at the Orlando Airport by Roger from GKTW and he was so nice to us. He even got our bags for us. We got to drive a Dodge Charger for a week and my mom has always wanted one so she was in heaven.  

Later when we arrived at GKTW we met a lot of nice people from all over the world that come to Florida just to volunteer for families like mine. I like this especially because my family and I also volunteer for different charities to help other people. Our villa was so nice, it was like brand new. Billy and I had our own room, not like at a hotel where you all sleep in one room and our bathroom was enormous. Every day we had little gifts left for us on our kitchen counter that we played with each night before bed. I love roller coasters but I haven’t been able to go on them for the last few years because of my bad heart. This time I was able to go on every ride and I had so much fun! We were treated like Royalty because we got to go to the front of the lines without waiting! This was the best part about the whole trip!

When I am older I plan to visit GKTW to volunteer and make a difference for families like mine. My family and I also want to hold a fundraiser at my mom’s work for Make A Wish in the near future. It was awesome to see kids with health problems finally get to enjoy themselves and have fun. My parents were super excited as well. I think it made them happy that I was happy and having a great time. Thank you again for my special trip that I will remember for the rest of my life!

Your friend always,
Tanner