LAKE STEVENS — On a sunny day, Savannah Wilson will sit in the swing in her back yard just so she can feel the heat beam down on her.
The blind and developmentally disabled girl likes to snuggle up with her heated mattress pad in her bed.
Now, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Alaska and Washington, Savannah, 16, can enjoy another of her favorite things in life: the warm water and bubbles of a new hot tub.
Savannah has a rare genetic disorder that affects the spine, brain and eyes. The Make-A-Wish Foundation arranged for the installation of the hot tub in her family’s back yard last week and on Saturday hosted a party for the girl.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. A child’s physician is contacted to make sure a child meets medical criteria established by the foundation.
Savannah’s mother, Sharon Jordan, said she wasn’t sure her daughter would qualify to be a Make-A-Wish recipient but she contacted the organization in May to find out.
Savannah was born with Aicardi syndrome but was not officially diagnosed with the condition until 2008, when more was known about the disorder, Jordan said. Doctors told her Savannah was blind when she was just 10 days old. She has osteoporosis, a disease characterized by too little bone formation and bone fragility, and scoliosis, a musculoskeletal disorder where there is a curvature of the spine.
“She has a prognosis where her life span will be decreased but we just live life and let her be happy and be a kid,” Jordan said. “She is the happiest kid on earth and loves people and animals and music and playing.”
Make-A-Wish volunteers met with Savannah to try to understand what the girl’s wish would be. Cognitively, her daughter did not understand wishing for something like being a princess for a day or meeting someone famous, Jordan said. She’s been to amusement parks and Disneyland and those places are too overwhelming for the girl. A possible wish for a horse was ruled out.
Then came the idea to wish for a hot tub. Savannah loved it.
“Every time we go anywhere on vacation and there’s a hot tub, all she wants to do is sit in the hot tub,” Jordan said. “She can use this for a long time. It feels good and it gives her something healthy to do.”
Savannah’s wish for a hot tub is one of 13 wishes that have been granted so far this month by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Alaska and Washington, said spokeswoman Jeannette Tarcha. The chapter is celebrating its 25th year and has granted more than 4,600 wishes.
The hot tub for Savannah was donated by Marquis Spas and installed by Ford Crane of Snohomish, Aqua Rec of Tacoma, and Seahurst Electric of Everett. Other local businesses donated materials for the hot tub and food for the party.
Savannah and several of her friends and classmates from Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish played in the hot tub, had their faces painted and sang karaoke at the party, said Jeff Nelson, a Make-A-Wish volunteer.
“It was incredible seeing her wish come true and the happiness in her face,” he said. “I’ve never seen a happier girl than what I saw that day.”
While using her hot tub, Savannah likes to move from seat to seat, turn on the bubbles and run her hands under a little waterfall. An iPod docking system feature lets her listen to music.
The girl giggled and said yes when her mother asked if she liked her hot tub.
“How does it feel?” Jordan said.
“Warm,” said a smiling Savannah.
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
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