Where Are They Now? - Marcus' Wish

A friend sent me a message last week asking about the children whose wishes we had granted who had passed away. I think he was a little upset with me that the focus here seemed to be on the children who were survivors, because of course there are children who do not survive as well.

That is a very good and sensitive point, because the work we do is serious work, and we cherish the children who have left us just as intensely. I did not mean to rush past their hopes and dreams or the terrible grief their families have faced. They live on in our hearts, too, and in most ways even more poignantly.

We want very much to hear from all those families too! So here is a letter we received last week from one of them. It was written by Marcus' mother at half a year's distance from his death.

Dear Mike (the person on our staff who arranges wish travel),

I'm not sure if you remember me. I am Marcus' Mom. You helped Marcus with his wish to Hawaii last August. I just wanted to say I am so sorry Marcus wasn't able to send anything back to you about his trip. I don't know if you heard what happened while on the trip. I will quickly explain just a little.

Marcus' wish was to go to Hawaii to see Pearl Harbor. He had an MRI on his brain just 2 weeks before we left where the results were "clear." We left on August 10th to Hawaii. The following morning Marcus woke up feeling very sick with nausea and headache so he slept all that day. The 2nd day he woke up feeling worse and with double vision. We spent the day at an ER in Honolulu where they did another MRI and found a new tumor in the back of his brain. He was put on steroids and we went back to the hotel. He decided to try and stay. Day 3 we went to Pearl Harbor. He was able to see the USS Arizona which was his dream. It was so great to see him there! After a few hours there he was ready to head back to the hotel. Day 4, he did go up in the helicopter ride with his Dad. He spent about half an hour at the beach and couldn't handle much more than that. He spent most of the trip in the hotel sleeping or resting. He did go down and sit by the pool in the evenings and watch the ocean, or what he could see of it. By the day we left, his vision was bad and his balance was as well. We had to help guide him while he walked.

Fifteen minutes after our plane landed in Salt Lake, he got a massive headache that just kept getting worse. We rushed him to Primary Children's where they put him in ICU...The cancer was all down the center of the brain, on his brain stem and in little spots all over the brain. It was devastating. He was in the hospital for 5 days where we started a new chemo on him. He never walked alone again.

After 2 more treatments, that kept landing him in the hospital for days, we discovered that the treatments weren't working so we stopped treatment on September 29th, 2008. He was in such poor condition, he couldn't see or walk, and his speech was gradually going too. On October 26, 2008 Marcus died in his home.

The trip to Hawaii was such a blessing to us and our family. Even though we received devastating news there, it was a place where we could be together as a family and let everything sink in. The other boys enjoyed the submarine ride and the daily trips to the beach. We had no idea this would be our last vacation, our final time of solace and peace as a family. Thank you so much for your time and efforts that help families like ours spend our final time away together. Such a special memory. Marcus' Mom

In the very early years of Make-A-Wish Foundation, we received many letters like these, and many stories had this sort of ending. Those families taught us all how important it was to grant wishes earlier in the course of an illness... when the outcome was still uncertain and hopeful... when a child was well enough to truly enjoy the wish experience and the family was able to make joyful and carefree memories together. Brain tumors, especially in older children, can be brutally agressive, like Marcus', and can frustrate our very best plans; but we do serve children earlier now, and that is a good, good thing.