The last day of school is always a celebration but the final day of class at Hutchinson Middle School was extra special this year.
“They told us we were going down to the auditorium and we went and then they told me that I was going to the Bahamas,” Zach Wilkinson explained. “I was surprised, I’m very happy!”
Zach had been waiting more than a year to learn whether Make-A-Wish was going to make his wish come true. The 14-year-old had been diagnosed with cancer twice since then. He beat the disease both times.
“We waited 18 months to reveal with Zach his wish,” Danielle Sweat said. “He went through two rounds of cancer since were were given him as our wish kid.”
Sweat is one of Zach’s wish granters. She is trained to meet with wish kids to determine their one true wish. For Zach, it was to visit the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. He said he’s most looking forward to swimming with the dolphins.
“It would mean a lot,” Zach told EverythingLubbock.com in 2015 about his wish. He added that he was excited about the possibility of getting to travel outside the United States.
Sweat, along with fellow wish granters Candice Hayes and D’Lynn Reed, agreed that Zach very much deserves this time away with his family.
“He’s very determined,” Reed said. “He’s fought two battles and never once did he falter and think that he couldn’t beat this at all.”
Watch the associated video to see more of Zach’s wish reveal. For more information on the Make-A-Wish Foundation, call the Lubbock office at (806) 785-9474.
