Karsen Allman was nominated for Make-A-Wish in 2018.
Just recently, her wish finally came true.
A patio was added to the back of her family’s Seymour home, and an adaptive tricycle, two rocking chairs and a fire pit were assembled to complete the backyard makeover.
Four years ago, her mother, Lissa Allman, received a phone call letting her know someone had nominated Karsen for Make-A-Wish, which creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.
Karsen, 17, has Angelman syndrome, a rare neuro-genetic disorder that occurs in one in 15,000 live births or 500,000 people worldwide and is caused by a loss of function of the UBE3A gene in the 15th chromosome derived from the mother, according to angelman.org.
People with Angelman syndrome have developmental problems that become noticeable by the age of 6 to 12 months. Other common signs and symptoms usually appear in early childhood, such as walking and balance disorders, gastrointestinal issues, seizures and little to no speech.
Since Karsen can’t talk, it was up to Lissa to pick her daughter’s wish.
“A lot of people go on a trip to Disney. She has already been there. I was like, ‘What’s something that she will enjoy forever?’” Lissa said. “Well, she loves to be outside, but out front (of their home) is on a slant, so she can’t walk on it. … There really was nowhere to play, and she doesn’t do well in grass. I said, ‘Let’s do a backyard makeover.’”
Lissa shared that with a volunteer who came to their home in February 2020, and she was encouraged to make the best backyard she could for her daughter.
When the cost of everything was added up, it was a lot of money, so it had to be narrowed down.
“That’s where I said, ‘She’s going to get the most use out of a patio that she can play on out back with some rocking chairs, some patio furniture, maybe a firepit and a trike that she can ride around the neighborhood on,’” Lissa said. “I tried to think of something that would stay with her and grow with her.”
A month after that visit, the COVID-19 pandemic started, resulting in a delay securing a contractor.
Once Jessica McBride with Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana became involved in the process, Lissa said the wish finally became a reality.
“She gave options of rocking chairs best for (Karsen), four trikes, four firepits,” Lissa said. “She absolutely did her research and worked hard on it, so I really thank her.”
Chandler Christopher was paid by Make-A-Wish to do the concrete work for the patio, and five members of the Columbus Meridian Kiwanis Club volunteered their time assembling the Rifton tricycle, rocking chairs and firepit.
A Make-A-Wish representative was supposed to be there for the reveal June 17, but they weren’t able to make it, so Kiwanis members Mike Kell, Lyle Leitholt, Doug Stinder, Jeff Blasdel and John Asel brought Make-A-Wish signs, food, bubbles and sidewalk chalk.
“She loved it, and she just had a blast,” Lissa said of Karsen.
“When you grow up with this and that’s all you know, you don’t see her as a Wish kid, so her being a Wish kid makes it even more surreal,” she said. “I’m glad that she got it and I’m very thankful for them all, but at the same time, it tells the real story of what’s going on with her, and it’s not always all fun and games, but she was all smiles that day. She loved it. … She just loves to be outdoors, so that’s perfect.”
Lissa said the Rifton trike is very therapeutic for Karsen.
“It makes her keep working because the older she gets, the more she loses her balance, the more she doesn’t walk as much,” she said. “So that Rifton is really going to keep her up straight and keep those feet moving.”
Blasdel, a member of the Columbus club’s board of directors and lieutenant governor for the Heartland Division of the Kiwanis Indiana District, said this was the club’s second time being part of a Make-A-Wish project. The other was in March when they assembled a playhouse for a girl in Plainfield.
“We always seem to enjoy doing them because Kiwanis is all about helping kids. It’s always making a wish for kids, so we’re happy to do that,” Blasdel said.
Helping the Allmans was especially gratifying because the trike will help Karsen be mobile and she can enjoy the patio with her family, he said.
“We have what we call Kiwanis Moments, and that was definitely a Kiwanis Moment,” he said. “Just seeing her smile and being happy is all worth it.”
The Columbus club does a service project to benefit kids once a month, so Make-A-Wish is one of many benefiting organizations.
“We’re always looking for additional volunteers,” Blasdel said. “If there are people that want to work with us to improve the lives of children, we’d be happy to have them join it.”
For information about Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, visit wish.org/oki.