Everyone has good days and bad days, but for someone who spends many of his days in the hospital, a good day is something to hold onto. And that's something the Make a Wish Foundation gave to a young man in Northcentral Wisconsin Saturday morning.
Josh Svejda has Non-Hotchkins Lymphoma. It's an illness that severely weakens the immune system. At 17, he's lived with some form of cancer all his life.
"I just always wanted a trailer," Josh said as he stands in front of a brand new horse trailer.
"It was an unusual wish," said Janice Moen, a Make a Wish volunteer. "Of course my partner and I had no clue of horses or trailers, so fortunately, Josh's family was able to help us out and get us the information."
"This trailer's a four-horse slant with a nice living quarters in front," Rob Jurgenson, a sales manager with Gold Medal Trailers said.
Jurgenson says the deluxe trailer is the first "wish" he's ever helped grant.
"Josh had requested a four-horse slant, so their family could go riding and take all the horses for the weekend," Jurgenson said.
On the outside of its shiny charcoal exterior, the phrase "Don't Quit" is stenciled in white on the trailer's upper right hand corner.
"I was so sick in December," the teen recalled. "It's a saying I just kept saying to myself."
His family says Josh had to give up so much because of his health that it's wonderful to see him receive something to let him enjoy what he loves even more.
"It's something we never would've been able to give him," Vickie Parker, Josh's mother said, choking back a sob. "It'll give him the independence and stuff he wants."
The mother watches her son, trying to hold back tears.
"On a horse you can explore," Josh said looking up at his horse, a black Walker named Gypsy. "They give you a sense of quiet, and just relaxing as you ride. It's about having fun."
He smiles as he speaks soothingly to the animal.
His family says days like Saturday, along with everyday they spend with Josh is something they're thankful for.
