We are granting out 500th wish since our inception in the state in 1985 and we need your help. Donate your airline miles today to help grant the wish of a West Fargo boy.

When wish granting volunteers met with Raziah Nelson, all he could talk about was visiting Hawaii. The 9-year-old has never seen the ocean in person, but has seen Hawaii on TV and wants nothing more than to experience the island with his family. His personal letter is shared below, and we are confident it will make you smile, just as it did us.

Raziah was born with a heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, meaning the left side of his heart (the side that receives the oxygen) is severely underdeveloped. This results in a situation where the left side of the heart is completely unable to support the circulation needed by the body's organs, though the right side of the heart (the side that delivers blood to the lungs) is typically normally developed. The right ventricle must then do a "double duty" of pumping blood both to the lungs and out to the body. This condition is uncorrectable and has already required multiple surgeries.

Raziah, who will require lifelong follow-up by a cardiologist for repeated checks on how his heart is working, was adopted into the Nelson family along with his three biological siblings. The Nelson’s already had three biological children, so adding Raziah’s family made them a family of nine!

The Make-A-Wish Foundation® grants Hawaii wishes every year, but the fact that the Nelson family is such a large family makes it a very costly wish. We have estimated a cash cost of over $20,000. With your help, we can bring the cash cost down dramatically. Donate your Northwest Airline miles to us today. It will take more than 630,000 frequent flier miles to grant Raziah’s wish!

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Currently we are wroking to grant or discover the wishes of 27 North Dakota Children. The more airline miles we receive, the more effectively we can grant all those wishes!