I thought I'd share this.
It's not specifically about Heath; however the story will touch your heart and is definitely worth the read.


A wish come true: Castle, Knights, and Pirates too
BY JON SCHUBIN
Kansas.com
The Wichita Eagle

Sunday, 09 June 2006


PENALOSA - Yosiah Smith found a large addition to his backyard when he returned Saturday morning from a sleepover at his grandmother's house: a medieval castle, complete with turrets, flags and a drawbridge.

Standing in front of the new playhouse was a gang of swashbuckling pirates, a representative from the National Guard in full uniform, and even some knights in armor.

This was Yosiah's wish come true. The 4-year-old Penalosa resident, who suffers from acute lymphocytic leukemia, became the 800th child helped by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Kansas, which started in 1984. The organization grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

In the past 20 years, Kansas Make-A-Wish has sent children to Disney World, New York City and Washington, D.C. to meet the president. But it had never given a child a castle.

"It's such a special wish," chief executive Pat Greenway said. "Just look at that castle."

The genesis of Yosiah's wish came in the spring 2005, when the Smith family visited Wichita's Exploration Place. There he laid his eyes on the castle, which was the centerpiece of a temporary exhibit on construction.

Yosiah loved the castle. When it was raffled off at the end of the exhibit, his family bought several lottery tickets so they could bring it home to Penalosa.

He didn't win, but Yosiah's mother, Genny Wells, had heard about the Make-A-Wish program, and wondered if somehow Yosiah could still get a castle.

The family met last summer with the organization, which assembled a team of volunteers that made the dream reality.

Dondlinger Construction provided the blueprints for the original castle, and volunteers led by Jeff Saxton of Newton built it in Wichita.

The finished product was disassembled and reassembled here early Saturday with help from two flatbed trucks and a fork lift on loan from the Air Force National Guard.

Yosiah knew he was getting the castle, but didn't know when. Wells said its impending arrival helped him get through 15 months of difficult treatment.

"The castle gave him something to look forward to in those times of stress," she said.

Some of the nearly 100 residents of the community northwest of Kingman who attended Saturday agreed.

"He's a very bright, very active young man," said Ellen McDonald, a Kingman nurse practitioner who has worked with the family. "He's full of life."

Yosiah is on course to be done with chemotherapy by August.

Yosiah was a little shy when he got out of his family's Town & Country minivan and saw the crowd surrounding his new castle. He entered the building only after firmly grabbing his mother's hand.

But once inside, he smiled as he took a first look.

The crowd then moved to a Renaissance-style tent, where the guest of honor received several more surprises.

He was made a knight by Chivalry for Children, given a sword celebrating his Jewish heritage, and was presented with a helmet used in the movie "A Knight's Tale" and an autographed photo of the movie's star, Heath Ledger. Yosiah watched the movie -- his favorite -- five times a day in the hospital.

After the crowds dispersed, Yosiah returned to his castle. This time he was confident enough to hold his new sword, beaming as relatives and friends snapped pictures.

Willa Bryant, Yosiah's great-grandmother, watched from a few feet away.

"It's neat," she said. "He'll have a lot fun in there. I didn't know what to expect, but it's great."