Teenage Cancer Survivor Receives Trip of a Lifetime

One of the biggest New Year’s celebrations had a special viewer this year, a 16-year-old cancer survivor who experienced a dream trip, provided by the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Lexi Mentzel was just 15 years old when she began treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma at Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The social workers at the hospital had connections with the Make a Wish Foundation. During her treatment, this allowed her to be offered a trip to New York City and a shopping spree at Macy’s. Mentzel was able to go to the Macy's in Sioux Falls, where she was interviewed by the local television station, KSFY. During the interview, she talked about her trip to New York and what Make-a-Wish meant to her: “The Make-a-Wish foundation makes me really thankful to be alive.”

Going to New York City to see the ball drop with her family was a way of celebrating the completion of her chemotherapy treatments seven months prior. Before New Year’s Eve, Mentzel also got to meet the New York Commissioner, see the Broadway musical “Wicked”, and stay in a hotel near Times Square. She chose to watch the ball drop in Times Square because “It was on many people’s bucket lists.”

As she stood on the 22nd floor of the Thomson Reuters building, waiting for the ball to drop, Mentzel said, could not help but think about how grateful she was for the new year, but also how grateful she was for the past year and how it has allowed her to grow into her faith.

Mentzel said this experience makes her hope to give back to the Make a Wish Foundation when she is older and make an impact for others as they made for her. She also said this foundation has given the opportunities that have allowed her to have a better understanding of and trust in her faith. If you would like to help others like Mentzel, contact the Make a Wish Foundation at https://wish.org/.