Most people cannot say they have made someone's wildest dreams come true, but the sisters of Chi Omega can.
In conjunction with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the junior class of the Auburn chapter of Chi Omega hosted a wish party for 4-year-old Jaden Schmeichel of Phenix City.
"We work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation for our philanthropy," said Katy Mac Tweedy, junior in rehabilitation services. "The juniors raised the most money out of any of the classes. We raised over $58,000 for Make-A-Wish. We always want to know how we can be more hands-on with our work. So when we told the people at Make-A-Wish that, they asked us if we wanted to be part of a wish party, and we said we would love to do that."
The wish party was held Friday at Frog Legs in Opelika, a children's playplace filled with inflatable toys such as moonbounces and slides.
Frog Legs donated its free-play time for the afternoon to host the party for the Schmeichel family and 11 of Jaden's friends.
"He was so excited," said Chastin Schmeichel, Jaden's mother. "I think he was more shocked that all of this was for him. Of course, he went straight to the inflatables, and I haven't seen him since."
Jaden was eligible for the Make-A-Wish program because he was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
"Technically, he only had half a heart," Chastin said.
Jaden had four open-heart surgeries in the first two and a half years of his life, the first coming four days after his birth.
More surgeries are expected for Jaden, as the oldest person who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome is only 24, according to Chastin.
But for Jaden, Friday was about inflatable slides and pizza, not lab coats and doctors' offices.
"To a 4-year-old, this is the greatest thing in the world," Tweedy said. "They don't know anything better than this. His face lit up right when he walked in the door. It was like it was Christmas."
The party was technically a "bon voyage party" for the Schmeichel family, as the second half of Jaden's wish begins tomorrow. The Make-A-Wish Foundation is sending the family to Disney's Magic Kingdom for one week, and Jaden will receive a pirate makeover on his birthday, April 25.
"He loves pirates," Chastin said, with extra emphasis on the word "loves."
Chastin said she would always be grateful for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the efforts of the Chi Omega sisters.
"It's amazing that people have taken the time and effort to do all of this for him," Chastin said. "He doesn't know how lucky he is to have all of these people around him who care about him."
Tweedy said the sisters of Chi Omega felt lucky to be a part of the afternoon.
"When you see someone so happy over something as small as a party like this," Tweedy said, "how could you not be happy yourself?"
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