Make A Wish Kid Wants To Redo High School Gym, Gets Something Bigger
Make A Wish has done amazing things for kids across the country, that’s not different for Carter. We had to make this our Cup o’ Joy.
After undergoing successful heart transplant surgery, 12-year-old Carter Julson was granted a wish by Make A Wish Minnesota. Over the years that he battled his serious heart condition, he’d gotten so much support from his community. Teachers, neighbors, friends, family, and even strangers had helped the family make it through the ordeal, and the Princeton, Minnesota, boy wanted to use his wish to repay them all.
Make A Wish Kid Carter
Carter’s older brother Drew had been lifting weights at Princeton High School and had mentioned how old and outdated the gym was. That gave Carter an idea to use his wish to have the gym totally rebuilt. His dad asked him if he was sure about his wish, reminding him that he could use it to go to the Super Bowl or on a family vacation, but Carter had made up his mind. At a school board meeting earlier this year, he got permission for his wish to move forward and when word got out, multiple community members approached the Julsons wanting to help with the project.
After months of planning and building, the gym was opened earlier this month, in time for the summer weight-lifting program, which Carter is now healthy enough to participate in. At the opening ceremony of the new gym, Princeton School Board Chair Sue VanHooser thanked Carter for his wish to give back. “Of all the wishes, you chose to give back to your community,” she said. “Thank you for your generous gift.”
Even BIGGER News!
Well, it turns out that he’s not going to miss out on that Super Bowl trip after all. Word of Carter’s act of kindness made its way to the Minnesota Vikings organization and they invited him to one of their practices. While there, they presented the teen with two tickets to Super Bowl 58 next month in Las Vegas.
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Now fully recovered from his transplant and back to playing sports, Carter continues to inspire those around him with his resilience and generosity. He’s grateful for the support of his family, his community, and the Vikings. He also understands what his donor heart must have meant for the family who made the donation possible. He’s grateful for that gift, saying to him, “It means the world.”
