To tell the story of the power of Sari Chang and her relationship to Make-A-Wish is to not know exactly where to start. Sari, her husband Kevin Guthrie, their now-thriving wish-kid Jeffers, amazing daughter Claire, and their youngest superhero Jack, have a history, a present and a future with Make-A-Wish that is a chain unbroken.

Their oldest son Jeffers was diagnosed with leukemia at age five. His wish was to attend the Bejing Olympics - a wish that Sari says not only healed Jeffers physically, but healed them as a family. “Our family felt so overwhelmingly grateful to be lifted from the reality of the hospital and finger sticks, pills and meds, nausea from chemotherapy and anesthesia from bone marrow biopsies - all things that consumed us for three and a half years. Our family was lifted up by Make-A-Wish."

Sari has had to confront - more than most - the fragility of life that can shake the deepest reserves. Five years ago, her youngest son Jack hit a tree while skiing at age 11. Jack is far down the road of a long and amazing recovery - even skiing again. Still, Sari continues to believe, through multiple medical ordeals or other challenges in life, we can choose to act or not, to be a bystander or an upstander. She chooses to do more.

Sari sees the positive force of humanity that reveals itself by continuing to pay forward the communal strength and support that her family has received. Recently, and keenly aware of how much planning and equipment it took when her sons Jeffers and Jack returned from their extended hospital stays, Sari and Kevin took on the challenge to fund and fundraise for upcoming medical equipment wishes.

Their commitment has ensured that we will be able to grant the wishes of the 14 kids in our chapter who are currently wishing for wheelchairs, medical beds, and handicap accessibility - necessities to ensure that their living environment is well-suited to support their condition, but which also allows them to have peace of mind, freedom from pain, and optimal safety at home. By eliminating some of these physical and financial obstacles, a wish child and their families can once again experience the comfort, contentment, and normalcy of living at home, together.

For kids battling critical illnesses, even the simplest things we take for granted-- feeling secure at home with our families -- become a need that reaches the magnitude of a wish. Especially during the pandemic.

Jack's Journey