A dream come true
Brooklyn’s Kiefer Huskins latest Make-a-wish Foundation recipient
“I just like the things you can do (with Jeeps). You can go in the woods and drive around and go offroading.”
Kiefer Huskins
For Brooklyn’s Kiefer Huskins, Feb. 1 was a dream come true.
“I wasn’t expecting it. I was just coming home and saw a van and bunch of Jeeps sitting there,” says Kiefer. “It took me a second and then I realized what was happening.”
The 17-year-old is one of the Make-a-wish Foundation’s latest recipients. Kiefer was successfully treated for osteosarcoma after being diagnosed with the cancer in 2019. On Feb. 1, he received a collection of Jeep accessories, including front and rear bumpers, side steps, a winch, seat covers, full soft top, light bar, bumper lights and a spare tire delete kit.
“It was like Christmas morning; there were all these boxes,” says his mother, Kim Huskins.
Originally, says Kim, they were thinking of requesting a trip from Make-a-wish. However, there were some limitations.
Kiefer would soon age out of the program and trips were put on hold due to COVID-19. Therefore, they had to think of something else.
“We started to toss around ideas,” says Kim. “I suggested a hot tub, but that didn’t go anywhere. And just one night he came downstairs and said, ‘I know what I want.’”
To help figure out what parts he needed, Kiefer and his dad did some research and by December 2021 the list was submitted to the foundation.
“I just like the things you can do (with Jeeps),” says Kiefer. “You can go in the woods and drive around and go off-roading.”
To make the desire happen, Make-a-wish reached out to Dartmouth Dodge to find the needed parts.
They also contacted the Nova Scotia Jeep Club, and treasurer Esther Mclaren joined the Make-a-wish team to make Kiefer an honorary member and give him some Jeep memorabilia.
By Thursday, Feb. 3,
Kiefer and his dad had most of the parts installed with just the light bar left to go.
“The garage had said it might take a couple of weeks to do this; they had offered to do it and then present him with everything done,” says Kim.
“But he insisted he wanted to do it himself.”
Kim says Make-a-wish is a “wonderful” organization to deal with.
“I was expecting a lot more delays with everything else that’s going on in the world; we were impressed and it was very easy. There was no stress on our part. The stress was him waiting,” she says.
And even though his wish is granted, Kiefer says Makea-wish is still there for him.
“They were just really helpful and they told me if there was anything else I need in the future, they can help,” says Kiefer.
As a national organization, Make-a-wish has granted more than 36,000 wishes since 1983, with the Nova Scotia chapter having granted about 1,200 wishes. Currently, there are 70 inprogress wishes in the province.
For more information on the Make-a-wish Foundation visit: makeawish.ca.