Folks, this is what it is all about

John R. Hall

Many of you kind people have expressed your care and help for those less fortunate. Check out this story. What a wonderful young man! I have seen children like him in my role as a volunteer for Make-A-Wish. And I count my blessings knowing the pain that these young people endure. If you ever want to do something truly rewarding, become a Make-A-Wish volunteer. It is an undescribable experience.

Here is the story:

Dying Child Leaves Legacy for Playmates

April 11, 2004 06:19 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS - Battling an incurable brain tumor that robbed him of his sight, 9-year-old Mak Shulist made a dying wish that had nothing to do with meeting with a celebrity, shaking a president's hand or going to Walt Disney World.
Before his death Friday, Mak got the Make-A-Wish Foundation to do something for his friends - build a rock-climbing wall on the playground of Ellisville Elementary School.
"It says a lot about the family and the type of person he was - selfless, thoughtful and caring," said Dave Knes, principal at the 600-student school in suburban Ellisville.
"We learned a lesson from a 9-year-old - that even when we're going through tough times we should be thinking of other people and not ourselves."
Mak's illness was diagnosed about a year ago, Knes said, when physical education teachers noticed him losing his balance and falling while he ran around the track.
Despite chemotherapy and radiation treatments, the tumor came back last fall about the time Mak started third grade, Knes said. Mak last attended school in October or November.
"I thought he was going to wish that there was a medicine or something, and he just wished for that," schoolmate Will Randall told KSDK-TV. "And I was like, `Whoa, he's nice.'"
The family remained private, but a basket appeared outside their home and became a drop-off spot for well-wishers. "People would put a gift in there every day," Knes said.
As Mak's health declined, the Make-a-Wish Foundation hustled to build the 7-foot-high climbing wall.
"From the time the wish was granted to the time they were playing on it was less than two weeks," Knes said. He estimated it cost the foundation $10,000 to $15,000. Volunteers put it together.
On Thursday, Knes videotaped students scaling the wall and describing it in detail for Mak's benefit, and he rushed the tape to Mak's parents.
"We tried to hit the audio really big for him," the principal said. "His mom said he did hear it."
Mak died the next day, surrounded by family.
"Every time I'm going to get on this wall I think about him and what he did for us," said one of his friends, Michael Stafford.