Photo:  The Roosevelt Hotel NYC General Manager John Trovato and our Kids Wish Network guest Gideon in the hotel lobby

The Roosevelt Hotel New York has always been proud and honored to be a small part of the Kids Wish Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to granting the wishes of children living with life threatening illnesses. This week we were graced with the presence of a happy (and chatty) 15 yr old boy from Michigan named Gideon. Gideon suffers from Cystic Fibrosis (a devastating lung disease) that often takes the lives of its sufferers in their late teens and twenties. A true survivor with the strength that some of us may never know Gideon has been through 4 surgeries this past year due to a severe sinus infection which turned into a brain absess. During the second surgery, damage was done to his optical nerves leaving him blind.

Let’s get to know Gideon. Gideon is an upbeat, popular and intelligent kid who enjoys listening to books on tape. He is a huge fan of the TV show “Heroes” and his favorite celebrities are Michael J. Fox and Johnny Depp (me too, Gideon!). He loves to listen to books on tape, spend time with his cat and his best subject in school is English.

When it came to making his wish, Gideon knew right away what his would be. While recovering from surgery, he heard a TV interview with Michael J. Fox where he was talking about his book, “The Incurable Optimist.” Gideon instantly felt a connection with Michael and found him to be an inspiration so it was a no-brainer that this was what he wished for most.

On April 21st at the Central Park Zoo, Gideon’s wish came true. Michael J Fox was kind enough to meet with Gideon and his family and Gideon finally got to meet his idol.

The Roosevelt Hotel New York was proud to donate accommodations to Gideon and his family so that he can com to the Big Apple to fulfill his wish. It’s a small part, but we are so happy and honored to play a role in Gideons wish!

Posted By
Kelli Crean
Ecommerce Manager

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 at 7:08 am and is filed under Inside the Roosevelt Hotel New York. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.