Emily Smith
September 10, 1991-
December 31, 2005

Wishes & More grants Emily's Wish

Emily stole the hearts of everyone she met, and her death broke the hearts of thousands.  The neuron malfunction that took her away remains a mystery, but Emily valiantly battled it until the end.

We met her when she described her wish to travel to San Diego to see her Uncle, visit San Diego Zoo, and swim with dolphins at Sea World.  Her wish came true in June, and she remained close to all of us by attending our Celebrity Dinner, our first Birthday Party, and she also represented us at the Oakdale Outlaws football game.

Emily was an awesome 12-year-old girl with a passion for sports.  She also loved dolphins, cheesy mashed potatoes and the color purple.  Emily had an amazing ability to remember statistics on all of her favorite players, and she read the sports page daily, right up to the end.  Emily loved the Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves and the Wild!

Emily had a mysterious disease that all of the doctors just couldn't seem to diagnose.  In August of 2004, Emily began to lose her ability to walk and rapidly deteriorated.  Her disease may have taken her ability to walk but it did not take her positive attitude.  Emily and her family’s motto was to "live and love a lot, every moment of every day!"

Tom Reid, Karla Blomberg and Danielle Johnson had the pleasure of interviewing this special young lady to talk about her wish choices.  After some discussion, Emily decided to travel to San Diego to swim with the dolphins and to visit with relatives.  From the ride to and from the airport, flight arrangements, resort accommodations, van rental and spending money, Wishes & More™ took care of it all!  Volunteers John Burch, Joyce Davidson and Sandy Leon met Emily at the airport to assist the family with getting to and from the gate. Our friends at Northwest Airlines made Emily and her family feel so special with their VIP treatment!  Thanks to everyone who helped with Emily’s wish.

Emily was able to swim with the dolphins at Sea World, take a tour of the Wild Animal Park, visit The San Diego Zoo, and best of all spend some time with her family and friends.  While Emily was in the pool with the dolphins, her mammal friend was so taken with Emily that he would not listen to his trainer. He just wanted to focus on Emily.  Emily and her family returned home with many wonderful memories.

We all celebrate Emily.
 

ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS (8/16/2005) "She's smiling, she's sassy, she's dying"