Kidney recipient pays her ‘Wish’ forward in Metro Detroit

Wednesday, one young woman’s wish to change the lives of children like her came true.

Tiffani Hunt was 17 years old when she was diagnosed with kidney failure. She would spend 12 hours a week on dialysis at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit.

Just as Make-A-Wish Michigan was going to grant her wish to go on a cruise to Aruba, the pandemic hit.

The pandemic not only put her wish on hold but also made hours on dialysis difficult with no volunteers, activities, or special visitors like service animals. Hunt did make friends, but one of them passed away.

In her friend’s honor, she made a new wish that included paying it forward. She asked Make-A-Wish for Nintendo Switches for the patients to have.

“I don’t want anyone to be bored,” said Hunt, who is now 22 and received a kidney transplant. “It’s a boring thing to go through, especially at a young age. I know I was only 17 doing it, so if I was bored at 17, I can just imagine a 12-year-old or a 7-year-old doing the same thing.”

Chief Diversity and Engagement Officer for Make-A-Wish Michigan Sherri Collins said it took some time to brainstorm, but eventually, they landed on something Hunt wished she had.

“There are at least five Nintendo Switches that will be here for when children come for their treatments,” said Collins. “It’s loaded with all the games from ages two and up, so any child, whatever their age is, will find something on there they’ll enjoy.”

At first glance, the wish is just video games, but it goes a long way for young patients like Terrien Leake. He’s been on dialysis since 2015.

“It inspires me to want to keep striving in order to give back to people just like me, and I hope someday I can accomplish it,” said Leake.

Meghan Zechmeister is a social worker at the hospital and explained how mentally and physically draining dialysis is for children.

“They miss a lot of after-school activities because they have to come here, they’re missing out on classes, and so playing a game while they’re here lets them be a kid again, and they don’t have to worry about anything else,” said Zechmeister. “They can play against each other; they can play tournaments.”

“This is something they’ll take with them forever, not just today,” Collins said. “Just knowing that someone cared enough about them that they provided this for them.”

Make-A-Wish Michigan is granting more wishes than ever before. Click here to donate.