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She Made Our Day
by Trooper Matt Arnell
Early last year a little
girl by the name of Shaina
came to the attention of the
Wyoming Highway Patrol
Association. Shaina Willey,
a seven year old girl with
brown hair in pig tails,
likes much of the same
things in life as all little
girls, but her favorite is
fishing with "Grandpa".
Shaina had also been
diagnosed with A.L.L.
Leukemia. No child should
ever have to deal with such
a dilemma or confront the
horrors of the various
treatments such as
chemo-therapy.
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The Wyoming Highway Patrol
Association contacted the
Make A Wish Foundation of
Utah and inquired as to the
possibility of sponsoring a
wish for Shaina. The Make A
Wish Foundation contacted
Shaina and asked her what
her wish would be. You
guessed it, "Disney World".
The staff at the Make A Wish
Foundation is made up of
almost all volunteers who
devote a large part of their
own time to try and grant
the wishes of children
across the country that have
been diagnosed with life
threatening illnesses. The
Make A Wish Foundation
arranged a trip to Disney
World for Shaina that would
begin on the 4th of February
and end the 11th. On the
morning of the 4th, a limo
picked Shaina up, as well as
her little brother and her
parents, and took them to
the airport in Salt Lake
City for their flight to
Florida. There, she was
joined by a surprise guest,
her Grandfather! They were
met by more volunteers to
lead them to another
limousine that whisked them
away to a retreat that was
built by Disney World just
for kids like Shaina. This
retreat is located next to
the main Disney World theme
park and is also staffed by
volunteers donating their
time to try and bring some
happiness to kids who have
faced some trying times. The
retreat features magical
fairies that tuck the kids
into bed each night, each
family has their own
bungalow, the mayor is Mr.
Rabbit, and there is ice
cream 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week. The lodging and the
meals are free, thanks to
the hospitality of Disney
World. While in the theme
park, Shaina wears a special
hat that was given to her
which denotes her as a
"V.I.P" and affords her
certain benefits, such as
front of the line priority,
as well as other privileges.
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On the 22nd of January,
Trooper Huckfeldt and myself
were able to attend Shaina's
going away party in Salt
Lake City, Utah at the only
building in the country that
was built specifically for
the Make A Wish Foundation.
As you enter the doorway of
this new structure and look
up, you are able to see
numerous stars made of
stained glass hanging from
the ceiling. Each child that
is supported by this chapter
of the Make A Wish
Foundation engraves their
names onto one of these
stars where it is then hung
from the ceiling.
Shaina was presented with
her star and she promptly
engraved on it her name as
well as her little
brother's, her parent's, and
Make A Wish Troopers, where
it was then suspended from
the ceiling. Shaina then
signed and decorated a large
album page that had been
reserved for her and will be
preserved in a glass case
where she will be able to
come back and add designs or
just stand and look at it
whenever she wishes. Shaina
was also presented with a
check from the Wyoming
Highway Patrol Association
to pay for airline tickets,
food, film, souvenirs, and
other necessities that a
little girl and her
entourage may need on such
an adventure. The party then
moved into fun mode as the
cake and ice cream were
brought out. Shaina was in
good form as she ran around
the room, climbing,
exploring, posing for
numerous pictures, and
playing host to all of her
guests.
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Shaina made me promise to
express her thanks and
appreciation to the Wyoming
Highway Patrol Association
and all those involved who
helped to make her wish a
reality.
As for our wish, we wish
Shaina great fun and good
fortune in the future and
thank both her and the Make
A Wish Foundation for
letting us play a small part
in her dream.
Baileys Wish
by Christopher R. Clymer
Sometimes in life,
things just aren’t fair.
But growing up, you
usually adapt and
overcome or you learn to
live with it and move
on. That is just life.
But when you are dealt
an unfair disadvantage,
when you are only 8 days
old, to me, that is
unjust.
Bailey Williams was born
March 11, 1998. When
Bailey was 8 days old,
Bailey was diagnosed
with HLHS (Hypoplastic
Left Heart Syndrome). A
congenital heart disease
in which the chambers,
valves and related blood
vessels on the left side
of the heart are so
malformed, they cannot
efficiently pump blood
to the rest of the body.
At 14 months old, Bailey
went through a heart
transplant and received
a whole new heart from a
unfortunate 6 month old
baby boy out of Houston
TX. Since the
transplant, Bailey has
to travel to Denver,
Colorado every 4 months
for a checkup. Baileys
prognosis has been good,
so good, Baileys doctors
say she should be a
poster child for
transplant.
I was ecstatic when I
found out a young girl
named Bailey Williams,
from my same home town
Laramie, Wyoming, was
the recipient for the
Make-A-Wish Foundation
trip, donated by The
Wyoming Highway Patrol
Association. Besides,
how often do you get to
be a part of making a
young girl’s wish come
true?
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On September 5, 2003,
Bailey, her Father Greg, her
Mother Tish and Brother
Nicholas, were treated to a
send-off party at
Godfather’s Pizza. At which
time, Bailey was also
presented her Make-A-Wish
gift from the Wyoming
Highway Patrol Association,
Wyoming Highway Patrol State
Troopers and Wyoming Highway
Patrol Port of Entry
Officers. Also attending
were Bailey’s grandparents
John and Sharon Anderson,
Brian, Sheila, Bailey and
Riley Fritzen, Bob, Kim,
Luke and Grace Riedsel,
Christina Wykert, the
Make-A-Wish coordinator,
Laramie Daily Boomerang
Press and the following
Wyoming Highway Patrol
Division "J" State Troopers
and Wyoming Highway Patrol
Port of Entry Officers:
Wyoming State Troopers and
Family Members
Adam, Mary, Danielle and
Andrew Zukowski
Dave Rettinger
Lance and Carrie Novak
Paul Mann
Jeff and Pam Baltimore
K.C. Ramsey
Scott and Susan Carlson
Shane Fox
Wyoming Port of Entry
Officers and Family Members
Christopher Clymer Mandie,
Melvin, and Dave Lacy
Rick and Kathy Joyner
Needless to say, Bailey had
a room full of people
supporting this special
little girl and making
Bailey’s send-off party a
special, "ONE OF A KIND
EVENT!". Bailey’s favorite
part of the send-off pizza
party was playing around in
Trooper Zukowski’s patrol
car. Not only did Bailey get
to sit in the drivers seat
of the patrol car, Bailey
was also arresting innocent
bystanders and placing the
violators in the patrol car
cage awaiting transit to the
local jail. And I am here to
tell you, I haven’t been
arrested so much and locked
up in a cage so many times
in one night since I was in
my younger days right out of
high school.
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On September 12, 2003,
Bailey and her family left
for Disney World in Orlando,
Florida. Bailey and her
family spent 6 fun filled
days in Disney World and 7
exhausted nights at Give
Kids The World Village in a
cottage outside of Disney
world in Kissimmee, Florida,
where Bailey could have all
you can eat Ice Cream.
Talking to Tish, Bailey’s
mother, she assured me
Bailey had a wonderful time
in Disney World. Bailey got
to meet her favorite Disney
World character, Ariel, The
Little Mermaid Princess.
Bailey also had breakfast
with all the Disney World
princesses in the Cinderella
castle. Among all the
activities, Bailey and her
family visited The United
Kingdom, The Epcot Center,
Disney World, Universal
Studios, MGM Studios, Sea
World and Mid-evil Times
where they were entertained
for a 3 hour long dinner
show. I guess their days
were packed full of
excitement.
Being a part of The Wyoming
Highway Patrol is a great
honor. Being a
Representative and member of
The Wyoming Highway Patrol
Association is an even
greater honor! Knowing an
organization cares so much,
to support and be a part of
a young child’s life and
make that child’s wish come
true is very commendable.
Nothing in life can compare
to the spark and the
excitement in Bailey’s eyes
knowing she was heading to
Disney World. I wish all of
you could have been there to
enjoy the excitement!
On behalf of The Wyoming
Highway Patrol Association,
The Wyoming Highway Patrol
and myself, best wishes go
out to Bailey, her father
Greg, her mother Tish and
her brother Nicholas. I hope
in the future Bailey has a
long healthy life and
remembers The Wyoming
Highway Patrol Association
and The Wyoming Highway
Patrol are here to make a
difference.
Thank you to The Wyoming
Highway Patrol Association,
Bailey Williams and her
family for letting me be a
part of something that can’t
be explained by mere words.
Christopher R. Clymer
WHPA Port of Entry
Representative
Laramie Port of Entry
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