A Long Awaited Wish Come True

Not long after Phin rang the bell in August of 2022, we were contacted by the Make-a-Wish Foundation telling us Phin had been nominated for a wish and they wanted to have a discovery meeting, if we were interested. At the time, it felt precarious to be planning something outside of the very near future--clinic visits, an upcoming return to church, then school, maybe a playdate when his immune system had recovered from what we believed would be his final round of chemotherapy. The prospect of planning anything more than a few weeks out felt like we were daring fate and left us uneasy and worried. On the other hand, how could we deny this little boy a wish after all he'd been through?

Between Covid and cancer, Phin had spent more time avoiding people in his five years of life than interacting with them. His experiences outside of our home were limited, his exposure to potential wish possibilities even less. All he'd wished for in the months he'd spent confined to the corridors of the Pediatric Specialty Unit were days outside, time with his family, playing with friends, riding his bike, kicking a ball around the soccer field, energy, his dog. What could this little boy wish for that hadn't already come true?

They invited us all to come to the meeting so all five of us went down the street to our local Starbucks, sat around the largest table they had, and answered a series of questions for the kind volunteer who met us there to discover what Phin's greatest wish might be. And then, he built up the courage to say it:

"I want to be a zookeeper at Animal Kingdom."

Could there be a more perfect wish for our animal-loving boy? The volunteer said she'd never heard of anyone asking for this wish, but he deserved it and if it was possible, they'd make it happen. He left that meeting beaming, cautiously hopeful but before the real planning could commence, Phin relapsed and his wish was put on "Pause".

If you've spent much time in a hospital with someone you love and the future feels very uncertain, you are well-acquainted with the barrage of regrets that come cascading in: "I should have said 'yes' more", "I should've been more patient," "I never should've made a big deal about grades or studying or lost shoes, or discarded toys all over the living room floor," "I should've set aside my work more", "we should have traveled", "we should have pushed to have his wish come true sooner." The regrets are nearly as loud as the "What-ifs" that echo through a dark hospital room at night, beeping in time with the monitors and IV machine pumping toxins or nutrition through the witching hours until dawn. The regrets and the what-ifs tangle into an anguish of guilt, the foundation of so many waking moments, the parent of a newfound well of endless patience. All the while you pray: "God, please don't let it be too late."

More than three years after Phin began his battle with cancer, the Make-a-Wish foundation made sure we would never feel the regret of a wish unfulfilled and in November 2025, we received the following email:

And before we could believe it, we were sent off to Orlando to fulfill Phin's wish to be a zookeeper at Animal Kingdom.

Zookeeper Phin

Animal Kingdom with our honorary zookeeper

 

You may have noticed that there are no behind-the-scenes photos of Phin as a zookeeper. We were not allowed to take them, nor share the ones the zookeepers took and sent to us, in a public forum. A small price to pay for the wish of a lifetime being granted, but rest-assured, on day three of our trip, we were met at Animal Kingdom by a guide who drove us out "beyond the magic" to meet the zookeepers. Phin was able to care for some elderly female cheetahs by making enrichment activities for them, and learned how to train a rhinoceros. He met and spent time with five zookeepers who seemed as excited to meet and have Phin alongside of them as we all felt. They told us that they had never, in all their time there, recalled another wish to be a zookeeper. "We've had people wish to go on the Wild Africa Trek, but none to be a zookeeper." We wrapped his wish up with a personal escort and guide on the Kilimanjaro Safari. They gifted him his own animal training tools and a water bottle with carabiner. I daresay they were wistful, posing for photos and talking about how they once dreamed of being zookeepers here, too--it was as if they were snapping each photo with future photos of Phin as a certified Animal Kingdom zookeeper in mind. If I let myself get hopeful, I can almost see the photo of 8 year-old Phin beside the one of his first day on the job at Animal Kingdom--his sandy shirt and shorts, a floppy hat and sunglasses, his training tools in hand, and the same group of zookeepers unable to contain their joy at Phin's much anticipated arrival, their reunion. 

 

We would be remiss not to mention our stay at Give Kids the World Village, a resort dedicated solely to wish kids. Some of Phin's most favorite people are his cousins and three of them happen to live in Kissimmee, a mere few miles from the Village. On the day we arrived, the cousins, Aunt Sara, Uncle Anthony, Granny, and Pepop were able to join us to explore everything it had to offer: all day ice cream, a huge game room, mini golf, characters, amusement park rides, and a Halloween party that night.

Later in the week, Phin got to visit with Stella the fairy to make his star. Every child who stays at the village is invited to make a star. Once they do, Stella and her giant friend (he's legitimately a giant--the only one who can reach to the rooftop to adhere the stars to its sky) find a home for it in the castle of the Village. A few days later, you are invited back to view your star.

Phin with Stella the Fairy

The star viewing for us was particularly meaningful. Our family was in deep mourning over the loss of our beloved Aspen mere days before this trip. We all struggled to stay cheerful in the face of the immense grief overtaking us. But Aspen sent sign after sign that she was with us, including the placement of her star in the exact same room as Phin's, just a few wall panels away, at the same exact height. We took small comfort in knowing they would remain there, united, forever.

When the Make-a-Wish (MAW) foundation grants a wish, they really go all out. A day at Animal Kingdom for Phin to be a zookeeper would've been all the wish we could've hoped for, but MAW gave us tickets to Universal Studios and every Disney World park. In all, we had five days worth of tickets that included parkhopper passes and unlimited lightning pass access to every ride. Every child in the Michael family's dreams came true. Phin and Obelia got to meet all the characters they could find (see Johnny from the Sing movies who is responsible for two of his favorite songs--"I'm Still Standing" and "A Sky Full of Stars"). Av discovered her love for rollercoasters and introduced Phin to his favorite ride (The Avatar Flight of Passage), which he then rode a million times over. We watched the fireworks show at Epcot while Phin sipped hot cocoa flights--twice. We pet a baby velociraptor and saw the newly opened Zootopia attraction in Animal Kingdom. We rode the monorail, and made a robot. We faced fears and made memories we will never forget. 

In my heart, I dream and pray that this trip was the culmination of his cancer journey. That it is the bookend experience of a battle hard fought, one he will never have to endure again, and that these were the spoils that went to our victor. After years of dreaming about this wish--a wish that sustained him through some of the darkest days, a wish I prayed he'd get to see to fruition in the depths of so many hospital nights--it came true.