Alex's parents write...

Dear Yael and the entire team at Make-A-Wish Foundation of Philadelphia,

The gratitude we feel for the gift you have given to our precious son, Alex, and to our family is deep and profound. Alex, who works so hard to meet all of the challenges he has had to deal with was given a time of pure fun, rest, and excitement. He delighted in every day and went to sleep with a smile on his face. He felt beloved and special and fortunate - all such heart warming gifts from you. He took joy from all of the new experiences he was part of and I know that this entire vacation broadened his horizons, while also giving him a heck of a good time!

And as for Greg and I, not only did we find happiness in the joy offered to Alex, but we had a great time as well! To be together as a family on a luxurious vacation was beyond our own dreams. Make-A-Wish did everything possible to make this a "stress-free" vacation and we were able to truly relax. We left those ten days renewed, smiling and feeling like we too had been cared for.

Below is a letter of thanks written by Alex. It comes from the heart. Also, we've attached numerous photos (but not all that we took!). Please pass these on to everybody involved. A special thank you to David and Amy, who were always warm and friendly. I especially want to thank them for the dignity that they bring to the process. I know that there are many people behind the scenes that make this work, so to them also, our deepest gratitude.

With love,
Susan and Greg


Alex writes...

Dear Make-A-Wish People,

Thank you so much for making my wish come true! It was so amazing in Hawaii! It was so beautiful down there!

You picked a perfect hotel for us to stay at! I really like Hilton because the hotel is really fancy! Most of the hotel is an outdoor area with all sorts of ancient artifacts, artwork, and culture. I really enjoy that. Our room in the hotel was so nice and I liked the balcony because it had a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean and the coast. It was cool that the curtain opened and closed by a remote control.

My favorite part was Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park. It was so cool! I saw the craters! That was cool! The whale-watching boat ride was nice. There were no whales but it still was relaxing and interesting to ride along the coast.

The helicopter ride was really awesome! We could see Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park. It was beautiful! We could see the craters! We saw a little of red-glowing lava from on the helicopter! It was beautiful! We saw the area where the lava touches the sea! Wow! That was cool! We rode through the Keyhole Valley! I almost fainted from that! It was so beautiful! I really love this helicopter rides! It was even better than an airplane because the helicopters fly lower than the airplanes' height.

The luau was great! I like the foods there. My favorite part of the luau was watching a man play with fire! That was so cool! I loved it!

It was a great trip for me! Thank you so much for letting us to go to Hawaii. Thank you!!! It was hard for me to get on a flight home because I really wanted to stay in Hawaii!

Truly,
Alexander