Meeting Spider-Man at age 5 was the highlight of his life up to that point for Chase Cornell, who at age 3 had been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.

He suffered from Familial Mediterranean Fever, a rare autoinflammatory genetic disorder distinguished by recurrent episodes of high fever leading to painful belly and chest attacks.

Like many of the wishes granted to nonterminal patients, his trip to Universal Studios, arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, helped provide respite and renewed energy to fight his illness.

Now 18 years old, Mr. Cornell is a senior and a thriving athlete at Archbold High School. He recalls happy memories of his Make-A-Wish experience.

“I remember getting picked up in the limo,” he said. “I was so excited and then getting on the plane and finding out we're going to Universal [Studios]. From what I remember, at the time, it was the most exciting thing ever.”

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana has been granting wishes to children in our community when they needed it the most. These acts of kindness have been life-changing, giving both children and their families the strength to persevere.

Founded in 1983, this chapter has granted more than 19,000 wishes, including greater than 1,000 wishes in northwest Ohio.

“There is absolutely nothing more powerful than the smile of a wish child,” said Stephanie McCormick, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. “It's absolutely life-transformational.”

The inspiration for starting the organization originated in 1980 when Christopher James Greicius, a 7-year-old boy from Arizona diagnosed with leukemia, wished to be a police officer. After the entire community rallied to grant his wish, the official Make-A-Wish Foundation was created.

Now with 58 national chapters and 42 international affiliates, the global movement has granted more than 550,000 wishes.

The experiences granted by Make-A-Wish have been credited with inspiring children to fight to live and even thrive.

“These wishes are not just for terminally ill children. They're for children with critical illnesses,” Ms. McCormick said. “Seventy percent of our kids go on to adulthood to live productive lives … go on past the age of 18.

“Thirty percent go to become what I call my wish angels," she said, referring to the children that come to them with a terminal illness. “We try to grant those wishes very, very quickly.”

To qualify for a wish, a child with a critical illness needs to be between the age of 2½ and 18.

The Make-A-Wish website shares research that shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength needed to fight their critical illnesses, potentially improving their quality of life and producing better health outcomes.

While Mr. Cornell still maintains a regimen of several daily medications, he has not allowed it to stop him from living his life.

“I feel fine now. For the past few years, it really hasn't affected my life that much, which I'm so grateful for,” he said. “I feel like any other kid now, like normal.”

His mother, Stephanie Perry, said the Make-A-Wish experience allowed her son to feel normal and fostered family togetherness.

“What was really important was we got to spend time as a family,” Mrs. Perry said. “It gave us a week to just be together with no doctor's appointments... nothing to do besides enjoy our time.”

With the help of medications, science, and research, her son’s illness is now dormant, she said.

“He's a healthy 18-year-old that plays football, and he's running track right now,” Mrs. Perry said. “They told us he wouldn't grow very much, and he's over 6 feet tall and a picture of health right now. You'd never know, and it's just amazing.”

Mr. Cornell encourages other kids dealing with illness to enjoy the wish while it lasts and to remain hopeful.

“Just keep pushing as hard as you can because you can get better and you can get stronger,” he said.

While trips to theme parks remain popular, children have come up with many unique wishes for Make-A-Wish to fulfill.

“These kids are so innovative,” Ms. McCormick said. “They just come up with magical things.

“There was a little girl who wanted to ride on a magic carpet with Jasmine,” she said. “We've had a child who wanted to throw out the first pitch at the Cincinnati Reds game. It's not always about going to Disney.”

Ms. McCormick shared stories of unique “give back” wishes from children who selflessly chose gifts that benefited others, including a 14-year-old boy who wanted to give his mother the wedding she never had. Others wanted to give back toys to their children's hospital, and a child in Ohio wanted to build a disabilities-accessible playground in her city.

“It's just phenomenal what they come up with,” Ms. McCormick said. “And these are experiences that not just a wish child and their family but the entire community can actually benefit.”

At the age of 11, Hannah Culler, of Northwood, was diagnosed with a severe autoimmune disorder that causes life-threatening allergic reactions.

With a passion to one day practice medicine, at the age of 18, Miss Culler had the wish to go to medical school at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation teamed with the university to provide Miss Culler with a life-changing experience.

“It was amazing,” Miss Culler said. “That's my dream school.

“They gave me a whole white coat ceremony to bring me into the medical school like all the first-year med students do,” Miss Culler said.

During her visit, she also helped deliver a mannequin baby from a robot simulator and do a mock health assessment.

Despite her continued medical challenges, her Make-A-Wish experience furthered her desire to pursue a medical career.

“After that, it just encouraged me more that I want to give back and take care of other people because of the awesome care that I have received my whole life,” Miss Culler said. “Make-A-Wish has been amazing.”

After graduating high school, Miss Culler went back to school and became a basic emergency medical technician.

“Then I went back and got my advanced EMT, and now I'm also in nursing school at Mercy College,” she said.

“What Make-A-Wish did for our family and for Hannah is incalculable, truly," said Karen Culler, Miss Culler’s mom.

“If we gave Make-A-Wish a different name, it would be called ‘hope,’” Mrs. Culler said. “They instill hope into a family, and it gives kids who have nothing to look forward to something to look forward to and they're so compassionate about how they execute what they do.”

“I just don't have words big enough to thank them, honestly,” Mrs. Culler said.

Waiting for wishes

In northwest Ohio,160 kids are currently waiting for their wishes to come true.

“As a full chapter, we will be granting 1,200 wishes here,” Ms. McCormick said. “...The largest number ever granted by any one chapter in the history of Make-A-Wish. A lot of that is because we're playing catch up from COVID.”

Not only are they celebrating its 40th anniversary, but the chapter will grant its 20,000th wish in May.

“We also have to raise some money, so we're really stepping up our fundraising efforts,” she said.

“Doing these kinds of magical wishes, so many people think that we get everything given to us for free, but all of our funding comes from individuals, companies, or corporations.” Ms. McCormick said. “We receive no government dollars at all.”

Ms. McCormick said the average wish runs about $10,000.

“We're always looking to raise the bar on our fund-raising,” she said. “We're always looking for new folks who have a heart and a passion to help us to grant these magical wishes.

Throughout this milestone year, Make-A-Wish will celebrate with galas and special events. The public is invited to join the celebration either by attending an event, volunteering, or by fund-raising, or donating.

For more information about the foundation, visit https://wish.org/oki.

First Published April 16, 2023, 10:05 p.m.