In
The News:In
The News:
Dream Makers
Three Hoosiers share their favorite tales of helping to grant others their hearts' desires.
By John J. Shaughnessy
Indianapolis Star Staff Writer
Indianapolis dream-maker Bob Haverstick loves the idea of "Three Wishes," the new reality television show in which singer Amy Grant stops in small towns across America to make the dreams of three people come true every week.
Haverstick can identify with the smiles and tears that mark the show that airs each Friday at 9 p.m. on WTHR.
| "It's knowing that we touch lives," says Haverstick, executive director of Never Too Late, an Indianapolis nonprofit organization that makes dreams come true for senior citizens. "But it's not just the people getting the wish who benefit. It's the family members, the professional caregivers and the people who make the wish happen. That's the energy I plug into." So do Terry Ceaser-Hudson, executive director of Indiana Children's Wish Fund, and Crystal Cooper, public relations director of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Indiana. Haverstick, Cooper and Ceaser-Hudson were each asked to share the most memorable wish they have helped to fulfill. Their responses form an Indiana version of "Three Wishes." Seniors' dreams surprise wish-giver When Bob Haverstick first dreamed of making wishes come true for senior citizens, he never imagined a couple would want to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary by jumping out of an airplane. Yet Haverstick made that sky-diving dream possible in 2004 for 88-year-old Albert McDaniel and his 81-year-old wife, Esther, of Martinsville. "That was truly a fun wish," says Haverstick, executive director of Never Too Late. "I wanted to do something for the forgotten elderly. When you get to a certain age, you're considered almost invisible, or it's like you don't exist. A lot of seniors have one last thing they want to do." Like 78-year-old Eloise Overdorf. She wanted to race down a drag strip in a two-seater dragster -- a dream that came true as she and driver Frank Hawley roared along a quarter-mile track at 158 mph at Indianapolis Raceway Park. "Afterwards, she said, 'It was really cool, only I'm a little disappointed. I thought we'd go faster,' " Haverstick recalls with a laugh. "She had no fear. She wanted to embrace everything in life." So did Bobby Afton Shults, a senior citizen whose wish is one of Haverstick's favorites. "As a teenager during World War II, Shults wanted to serve his country so much that he took his mother with him to the draft board so she could tell them he was a year older than he was," Haverstick says. "He was on the USS Missouri when the Japanese signed their unconditional surrender. His dream was to get back on a Navy vessel where he had served his country." |
"I talked to the staff of senators, congressmen, retired military, and they all told me the same thing: 'It's going to be hard to do because of 9/11.'" He called Chris Barnthouse, a retired Army major.
"He had a buddy who was still active in the Navy," Haverstick says. "He had a friend in Washington who had a friend who made it happen.
"Finally, Bobby Afton Shults had the chance to get on board a Navy vessel again. But he had Alzheimer's disease and he was in a nursing home. His son, Jon, escorted his dad onto the ship in Norfolk.
"As Bobby comes on board, Jon is holding onto his dad. As he's walking up the gangplank, they (the Navy personnel on board) salute him and welcome him aboard the USS Laboon. They give him a jacket and a hat with his name stenciled on it.
"After that, he was all over the ship like he was 19 again. He was holding court with the young sailors on board. Jon said he could not believe the total transformation of his father. Jon said he got to see his father again the way he was. He said it was something he would never forget.
"Even now, when Jon talks to his father about it, his father comes alive. A story like that touches the lives of everyone involved. That's why I started Never Too Late."
Children meet stars, long-lost family
In 20 years of making wishes come true, Terry Ceaser-Hudson has united terminally ill children with people they've always dreamed of meeting.
The executive director of Indiana Children's Wish Fund tells the story of a 9-year-old boy with a brain tumor who was a big fan of the television show "The Apprentice." The boy and his family always watched it together, and he wanted to meet the show's star, Donald Trump.
He got his wish. Trump invited the youngster's family to New York, put them up in a $2,000-a-night suite and spent time with the boy.
Ceaser-Hudson also tells the story of a youth who wanted to visit Rome because of its history. While he was there, he also asked if he could meet with Pope John Paul II.
"He wasn't particularly religious, but he said that meeting the pope had the largest impact on his life," Ceaser- Hudson says. "When their wishes have impacts on their lives that are lasting, those are the incredible ones."
That sentiment leads her to share the story of one of the most memorable wishes she has ever granted -- a union of a different kind.
"This wish involved a young girl who was originally from Ethiopia. She was 7. She had cancer. She was brought over to this country with her mother, and they were living with her aunt and uncle. When this little girl was diagnosed, she was asked about a wish.
"The first thing she said she wanted was coffee for her grandmother. Before coming here, she had lived with her grandmother in a hut in Ethiopia. After further discussion, we found what she really wanted was to see her grandmother."
Ethiopians weren't allowed to leave their country at the time, but with the help of Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar's office and the American consulate, travel arrangements were made.
"The grandmother was very frail, and she didn't speak a word of English," Ceaser-Hudson says. "She switched planes three times, and we had to arrange for someone to meet her every time.
"The little girl didn't know she was coming. When the grandmother arrived in Indianapolis and walked into that little girl's hospital room, the girl's eyes became as big as saucers. They cried. The grandmother stayed at Riley Hospital every minute for three weeks, until the moment the girl died. She was right by the girl when she died.
"The girl just wanted to be with her grandmother. It's one of the most beautiful wishes we've ever done."
Children's wishes inspire others
While nearly 40 percent of the Make-A-Wish children ask for a trip to Disney World, others seek different once-in- a-lifetime adventures.
"Ten years ago, we had a little boy who wished to be a lighthouse keeper," says Crystal Cooper, public relations director for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Indiana. "This past June, a girl wished to be a rock star. They put on a concert, invited other bands, and her dad wrote a special song that they sang together. It was really cute. It's fun when the kids get creative."
Then there is one of Cooper's favorite wishes -- the adventure of an 8-year-old Indiana boy named Jordan Neutz, diagnosed with a metabolic disorder.
Jordan liked being outdoors, riding horses and camping with his family, so his hope was to take a special trip with his parents, his sister and his grandparents.
"His wish was to tour the national parks," Cooper says. "We got an RV for them, arranged for all their travel, and they made a list of the areas they wanted to visit. He wanted to start at the Grand Canyon, go up through California, head east back to Mount Rushmore and Colorado.
"I don't think Jordan realized the magnitude of the trip. They left from their home in Lanesville and made it to the Grand Canyon, which took longer than they imagined. They decided not to go all the way to California, but to go to Colorado where they saw the Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak.
"They stopped at campgrounds along the way. And when people found out they were a Make-A-Wish family, people brought them food and a little stuffed animal for Jordan."
Cooper pauses to share a written report from Jordan about his trip in July. Jordan noted his favorite parts of the journey: "I learned to swim. I saw mountains, canyons, Indians, cowboys, a shoot-out (a re-enactment) and Garden of the Gods. The RV was so cool. I feel happy. People were nice on my trip."
Cooper smiles as she says, "It really touched me because it didn't turn out as it was planned, but the family was so grateful. They probably didn't get to see half of what they wanted, but it turned out to be a great wish anyway. They really had a great time together as a family. It was still what he wished for and what he wanted."
Call Star reporter John Shaughnessy at (317) 444-6175.
Copyright 2005 IndyStar.com. All rights reserved