Make-A-Wish recipient delivers care boxes to health care workers

KOB4 ^ | April 29, 2020 | Kai Porter

[nickcarraway]

Dozens of doctors, nurses and health care workers gathered outside Presbyterian Rust Medical Center in Rio Rancho Wednesday morning for a very special delivery from a young man.

"I found out that I had cancer when I broke my leg when I was skiing. They x-rayed my leg. Something didn't look right, so that's when I was admitted to the hospital and then I started treatment right away. It lasted for around 5 months. I was in the hospital for about 40 nights, but right now I'm in remission,” said Sam Neale, a Make-A-Wish recipient.

It was 17-year-old Sam Neale’s wish to give back to health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past two weeks, the community came together and donated items to help Neale create wish kits, which are boxes that contain things like personal hygiene items and gift cards to local restaurants and grocery stores.

Make-A-Wish recipient delivers care boxes to health care workers "We have shoe covers, hand sanitizer, a bunch of cleaning products, ear savers for their masks, just a bunch of stuff to help them throughout their day and when they get home also,” Neale said.

Neale’s goal was to make at least 100 kits, but with the help of donations he hit 120 large kits and 100 more mini kits.

Wish kits were also given to health care workers at Lovelace Medical Center and UNM Hospital.

The workers receiving them said they were overwhelmed with gratitude.

"As you can see by the turnout, everybody is so excited and so uplifted by the fact that Sam wants to give a gift to the health care workers. To use his one wish to give back to us makes us feel warm inside and very much appreciated,” said Sarah Sinclair, director of in-patient nursing at Presbyterian.

Neale was 15 when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Now, two years later, he was able to give back to the nurse who helped him battle cancer and who was the inspiration for his wish kits.

"My whole career, the reason I wanted to be a nurse, is to do something different for people and, you know, we go home some days feeling like we didn't make a difference and for someone to show up on my doorstep months after treatment and say 'You made a difference and you were the reason I thought of this,' it has touched my heart in a way that probably nothing else will,” said Shawna Sanchez.