Seven-year-old Oakley Gustafson of Moose Jaw recently had his Make-A-Wish dream come true.
He was born with a rare birth condition called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.
"All of his abdominal organs were up in his chest. His diaphragm was broken, so he was born with a smaller than normal right lung and no left lung, which then he was intubated when he was born for 51 days," explained his mom Lindee Holmes. "They did three surgeries before he left...He's been a champ since."
Oakley is on 24-hour oxygen and CPAP anytime he sleeps as well as a feeding tube anytime he gets too sick to eat or after surgeries.
Lindee says they applied for Oakley's Make-A-Wish during COVID, which ruled out a Disney trip as an option. Just before Christmas, Oakley had his wish granted thanks to Make-A-Wish Canada and several local supporters.
What he really wanted was a bedroom makeover.
"What he wanted was a bunk bed, so he could have some friends sleep over because he's got a lot of medical stuff he has to take with him if he wants to sleep somewhere, like a CPAP machine and his oxygen," explained Lindee. "They granted his wish with the bunk bed, and he got a gaming system for his room, which he was so excited about."
Oakley also received a new smart TV, a tablet, Warriors tickets and a gift certificate for Life's a Beach Rentals.
"He was so excited," laughed Lindee. "He kept yelling 'Thank you God, Thank you God!'. Been waiting for a long time for that."
The bunk bed was donated by Eleisha Lanz and Devin Krumm at Ashdown's Furniture. All of the electronics were installed by employees with CP Rail.
Lindee says every three to four months they have to travel to Edmonton for treatment, which usually lasts a week at a time. She notes Oakley will be receiving back surgery during an upcoming visit which means they'll be staying in Edmonton for about a month and a half.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with bills and living expenses in Edmonton. A Facebook page has also been set up to allow people to follow along with his recovery called Hope For Oakley.