During a chat in WTOP’s studio, Make-A-Wish kids opened up about their health struggles and offered their advice to others facing adversity.
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Wish kids share words of wisdom
Throughout December, WTOP is bringing you “Wish Wednesday,” where we spotlight what Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic does for families in D.C., Virginia and Maryland. If you would like to help make a wish kid’s dream come true, please visit the foundation’s website.
The holiday season is known as the happiest time of the year, but for some families, it can be quite the opposite.
During a recent Make-A-Wish open house, the smiles on the faces of 16-year-old Zahara Weeks, 11-year-old Haley Gibson and 14-year-old Ben Keller could not be bigger.
The truth is, if the three of them would have been less than jolly, you would have understood why.
The three kids have faced health struggles that would be tough for anyone, but to have to face them while you are still a kid seems crueler.
Weeks beamed while sharing her adventure of swimming with whale sharks in the middle of the ocean. She was joined on her Wish trip along with her parents and little brother.
Keller, who is from Fairfax County, Virginia, also had a Wish that was a high sea adventure, as he and a dozen family members went on a Royal Caribbean Cruise.
While not as dangerous as swimming with whale sharks, waiting in line at the morning buffet on the ship can be challenging.
As the Wish kids and their parents met and chatted in the WTOP studio, Gibson, who recently moved to Frederick, Maryland, thanks to her father’s service in the Army, shared her dream of one day competing as a gymnast in the Olympics.
Weeks’ mom, Kesha, did not speak to Gibson like a little kid who wants to be a cowboy when they grow up. She told the 11-year-old, “One day, I’ll watch you in the Olympics and I’ll say, ‘I know her.’”
Not long ago, Gibson had her wish granted and was able to meet her hero, Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles.
Gibson’s mom, Lisa, said she will always be grateful to Biles because of the kindness she showed her family.
During a chat with each Wish kid in WTOP’s Think Tank studio, they opened up about their health struggles.
“I was diagnosed right when I was born and I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis,” Haley said. “Like different things you do every day can become harder for you.”
Weeks said she was diagnosed with a blood disorder at birth.
“I’ve had it my whole life,” she said. “You can experience pain randomly as well; you really have to learn how to manage your symptoms.”
Keller was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in March 2024.
“The hardest part was probably being broken the news that I had it,” Keller said.
Luckily, all three of them are doing well healthwise, and Keller just celebrated his one-year anniversary of being cancer free.
WTOP asked the three kids what advice they would give a friend who was diagnosed with their health issue.
“Don’t be scared of what you have ahead of you,” Keller said.
“Never stop dreaming and giving up,” Gibson said she would tell them. “Once you get over that hill, it’ll be smooth sailing.”
And Weeks said she would tell a friend, “They were made to push through this, that’s just something that you have built into you.”
“They’re born a warrior,” she said. “I’m a warrior.”
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