Meet Willie, 7-year-old bike lover, big brother, and a kidney transplant patient at our hospital. When he found out he was granted a wish from Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area, he knew exactly what he wanted: to help his nurses. “I know the coronavirus has been very hard for them, so I wanted to make their jobs easier.” Watch the sweet moment when Willie surprised his nurses!
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Video Transcript:
Lily, Willie’s mom: Because of this hospital and the nurses, he’s never afraid of going to the hospital or going to surgery, going to dialysis …
Ethan, Willie’s dad: I think definitely it’s the nurses. They’re all very positive, very supportive, and made the environment more friendly to kids.
Willie: They’re really nice. They take care of me.
Lily: One night before bed, we were really happy, reading bedtime stories. And then suddenly he got really sad, and he said, “Nurses.” And I said, “What nurses?” And he said, “Stanford.” He said that he misses the nurses, he missed the hospital, which is, we don’t miss the hospital, but the kid, he misses the hospital.
Willie: I made a wish for them. And I know coronavirus is making their job very hard, so I wanted to make their job easier.
Becki Smith, Make-A-Wish: We are celebrating Willie’s Wish Day today at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. It’s really rare that we would get this kind of a wish. We do philanthropic wishes, but they don’t come very often, and especially not from a 6, now 7-year-old. And we are surprising the nurses with lunch, catered lunch for them as well as some care packages.
As you can see, you’re probably wondering why you’re here. It is today’s Willie’s Wish Day, and not only do you get to be a part of Willie’s Wish Day, but you ARE Willie’s Wish Day.
Mayna Woo, RN, BSN: I actually was very speechless, this is a surprise. Also exciting at the same time because this is not something that, you know, really you expect.
Cynthia Wong, MD: We were just so incredible grateful. It’s such a kind and generous offer. And so it was just really nice to be able to appreciate all the hard work that the team has done.
Willie: I’m gonna give them drinks, coffee pods, and those are the bags with presents inside for them.
Becki Smith: So, we have some coffee cups for them with a $5 Peet’s gift card …
Willie: An oil diffuser, oils for the oil diffuser, a stress ball, and a massage thingy.
Becki Smith: Willie’s favorite food is pizza, so everyone got a pizza pen.
Cynthia Wong. MD: It definitely was a really hard year with COVID. We’re just so grateful, so thankful. We’ve never had this before.
Becki Smith: He went to one nurse and she say to him, “You have such a big heart.” And his response was, “Not as big as yours.” I couldn’t handle it!
Cynthia Wong. MD: I just can’t tell you how appreciative I am that he thought to give his Make-A-Wish to the nurses. That’s just really phenomenal. We never see that.
Willie: I’m gonna say, I appreciate your hard work.
Lily: The dialysis center is the place that really makes us feel peaceful, and joy, feel more comfortable, and we feel that our kids can be taken good care of in the hospital. We really appreciate their effort, their job.
Willie: Thank you, nurses!
