Child lives out dreams through Make-A-Wish

OCEAN CITY, Md. – A seven-year old named Jason from Arlington, Virginia had his dream come true on the beaches of Ocean City Saturday morning.

Jason was diagnosed with Leukemia, and is now in remission, six months out from treatment.  But Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic made it their mission to make his wish come true.

“A long process. Daily chemo for most of that. Hundreds of doctors appointments, outpatients procedures, sedated for a number of them. So it’s a rough journey,” said Jason’s dad David.

A few months ago, Make-A-Wish Foundation heard about Jason’s journey, and began working with his family to do something special for the brave little fighter.

“It was funny watching him do his make a wish interview and he’s like ‘there will be shovels, and there will be clues, and there will be treasure,'” said David.

And that’s exactly what Jason got, complete with digging for treasure and clues in the Ocean City beaches.

Jason’s adventure concluded with a battle aboard Captain Jacks pirate ship.

“The whole day has built up to this moment when Jason will have to face his foe Captain Jack, they’re going to battle it out,” said Tara Wilson-Jones with the Mid-Atlantic Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Now six months clear of his 38-month treatment, David and Christine can’t help but get emotional seeing Jason play like any other 7-year old.

“With everything he’s been through it’s particularly emotional to watch,” said David.

“For Jason to be able to do this and for us to share it as a family has been a great experience,” said Jason’s mom, Christine.

For the family, Jason’s battle has taught them to cherish every moment.

“One of the things that this experience has given us is that we make sure we enjoy the things we’re doing, having a great time,” said David.

Make-A-Wish creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.  So far, the Mid-Atlantic chapter has granted more than 9,700 wishes.