ARVADA, Colo. -- A terminally ill teenager in Arizona whose birthday is later this month has just one wish.
And now an Arvada girl is doing all she can to make that wish come true.
It looks a little like a lemonade stand set up outside Kayla Adler’s west Arvada home. But these kids are not selling anything.
They are asking anyone who walks or drives by to give something a little more personal -- something to rival Hallmark -- and bring joy to a sick boy.
It’s a pretty simple wish.
It’s made of paper, a little ink, and the cost of postage.
“We’re making a card for this kid who is sick in Arizona,” says a neighbor boy named Carter.
That kid is 14-year-old Jacob Priestly of Queen Creek, Arizona, whose only wish for his 15th birthday on Aug. 28 are birthday cards.
“He suffers from mitochondrial disease. So basically, all the cells in his body are shutting down. And so basically, his birthday wish--because this could be his last birthday--is to receive 100,000 birthday cards,” says Adler, 13.
So she and her two friends, Linnea Wolle and her brother, Anders, encourage anyone to stop by.
They’ve got all the supplies to send support to someone who really needs it.
“We have tons of stickers. We have markers, crayon, pencils,” says the exuberant Adler.
“His wish is so powerful he want 100,000 cards. That’s a crazy number. Making one card isn’t hard. It puts a smile on his face and makes his day,” says Linnea.
They know it’s the thought, the warm wishes, and the sheer volume of birthday cards that might help him forget about his illness.
“He said cards are one of the reasons he has to smile anymore. So we want him to have 100,000 smiles,” says Adler.
“It’s easy. It’s fun. And you get to help make somebody feel like their wish came true,” says neighbor Lisa Binning, who was driving by with her husband and pulled over to make a card she called, “15 Wishes For Your 15th Birthday.”
It’s something they know they can give him--because their real wish for him of perfect health is something they can’t give him.
“We’re going to make his wish come true,” says Adler.
The kids collected about 100 cards on Saturday.
But they’ve got 500 pieces of paper and shut down for the day at 6 p.m.
You can send your own card to
Jacob Priestley
P.O. Box 855
Queen Creek, AZ 85142
