Category: 2018

Scott Kropman was diagnosed with a rare cancer, Stage 4 Neuroendocrine.  His wife wrote, “He has always been amazing, just a selfless man, he has always put others before himself. He is the best husband and father and friend, he has helped so many people and families with his positive and never give up outlook and attitude, we have even received emails and letters from people thanking him for being such an inspiration. He continues to inspire others each and every day, its truly amazing to see. There are hard days however, days where the pain & exhaustion get the best of him…  We have seven amazing children together…seeing their father sick isn’t always easy, a few of our children now suffer from anxiety, we are working through it. He was just recently taken out of work by his doctor, the budget is a bit tighter now more than ever. I have been praying that we could all just get the chance to ‘escape’ reality for a few days together, just to BE and to create some special memories while we still can.”

Scott’s family too large to travel somewhere, so they decided to spend time locally together. Scott and his family will meet with relatives at a local restaurant in the New York area.

Elizabeth’s wish has been granted to travel from Chicago to New Orleans to spend time with her family.

Angela will travel from St. Louis, Missouri to New York City with family and will enjoy three nights in New York touring the city.

Dear Don,

I wanted to extend my utmost gratitude to you and the Stella’s Wish Foundation Board of Directors. Thank you for blessing me, my husband Todd, and our two boys, Jack and Joseph. We had an amazing trip to New York City that was filled with priceless, lifelong memories.  And, most important, we had the gift of time with one another – the greatest and most wonderful gift of all.  We will never forget the outpouring of your support and compassion.  A special thank you to Rhonda for coordinating our hotel, air and ground transfer arrangements.  May the Lord continue to richly bless the foundation and your efforts as you honor Stella’s legacy and make a difference in the lives of others.  All the best to each of you.

With much love and gratitude,

Angela, Todd, Jack and Joseph Winterbower

 

Mildred Fultz has stage 4 metastasis breast cancer and hoped for a VISA gift card for $1000.00 for food, gifts to serve her family a Christmas dinner. Her sister lost her battle with brain cancer in 2016, and Mildred is looking forward to celebrating with her nephew (in remission from colon cancer himself) and his wife and four children, her daughter and my sister and her son, 10 people in all. Her dream has come true and her wish is granted.

Mary Rhodes’ wish has been granted for a wheelchair to help her move around better in her home and have a few handicap rails put up in her bathroom. Mary lives in Warrenton, Missouri.

Kristina Johnson is 44 years old and lives in West Allis, Wisconsin. She was diagnosed in March with metastatic breast cancer Stage 4 and terminal. She hopes to make this year the best Christmas ever for my granddaughter Dahlia who lives with her as well as her 29 year old daughter, Kayla.

Kristina has been granted a Christmas dinner with family at Red Lobster, Christmas gifts for her daughter and granddaughter, as well as a massage for herself to deal with the severe joint and muscle pain that comes from treatment.

   

Joseph Bleeded’s wish has been granted go to a Chicago Blackhawks hockey game and out to dinner with his family.

Joe’s sister requested this gift for him.  Joe, is 55 years old. He and his children have had a tough time of things. In 2012, Joe’s wife, Mary, died of breast cancer at the age of 44, leaving Joe to raise their then 9-year old son and their then 5-year old daughter.

In 2016, Joe was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that mestastasized to his brain. Joe underwent radiation and chemotherapy.

In 2018, the cancer started to grow again. Joe had brain surgery to remove the active cancer cells and the scar tissue caused by the radiation. Afterwards, Joe started back on chemotherapy, but had to stop because it drove his red blood cells too low. Joe now gets Keytruda treatments every 3 weeks. Joe is 6’1 and is down to 140 pounds. Joe was hospitalized again in October to remove an obstruction from scar tissue that prevented him from eating for 10 days.

Cancer has really hit Joe and his family hard. Six other family members have dealt with, died from, or are currently dealing with cancer.

His physical condition has severely hurt his financial position. Joe’s kids are now 15 and 11 and are struggling with the many losses they have already endured.

 

Kristina Zimmerman’s life was turned upside down at the age of 39 with an initial diagnosis of stage 4 breast cancer. She is a single mom of 2 girls who were 15 & 7. She had previously been healthy, eating well, exercising regularly and even running half marathons. She was working full time as a nurse. Three years later, she is still getting IV treatment every 3 weeks, can no longer work and is on disability. Although depressed, she still goes on to be the ‘consistent’ in their lives. Kristina’s wish is just like to take them both away somewhere and not focus on my diagnosis or on being her caregiver; just have fun and make memories they both will remember always.‬

Kristina is being sent on a Royal Caribbean western cruise for 7 days with her family.

Nathan Guzman is a manager at a Wendy’s store in Alhambra, California and his wish is to meet the owner of Wendy’s. Nathan was Manager of the Year in 2017 and was going to meet Wendy, but he was to ill to meet her.

Nathan’s wish is being granted and the corporate office will fly Nathan and his mother out to Ohio to finally meet Wendy. Special thanks to Debbie Cordero, a loyal customer at Wendy’s, for helping to get this wish started.

Kim Ramsthel’s wish has been granted to receive a new mattress and adjustable base for her bed. With tumors on her spine and tailbone , it’s hard to sleep on an old mattress.