VAF "Make a Wish" - Alex's Trip to OSH 2012

VAF community,
I am happy to report that the VAF "Make a Wish" mission was a complete success! Thanks to all of you, Alex Cuellar and his dad, Alejandro, had what I think many would consider the "dream trip" to Airventure this year. The following is my writeup of their trip, a few of my favorite pics and the link to their picasa web album for more pics. On behalf of Alex and his family, thank you all for your generosity, encouragement and support for this young man. For those who aren't familiar with Alex's story, see these links:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=85196
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=86537
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=87052

Here's a link to ALL their pictures:

https://plus.google.com/photos/113781809018215688676/albums/5770632288414869617?authkey=CNH97Nju5O7KDg#photos/113781809018215688676/albums/5770632288414869617?authkey=CNH97Nju5O7KDg

Alex and Alejandro arrived "in style" at Airventure, flying in, courtesy of Dwight Drefs and his beautiful RV-10 on Saturday, before the show. Since Alex has a hard time walking for too long, they were given a golf cart to use during the week (thanks EAA and Homebuilt HQ). They checked in at the Christian School in Oshkosh, which would be their temporary home during the show.


Happy to be in Oshkosh (and inside with air conditioning).

After getting settled in, they met up with Paul Merems (fund raiser extraordinaire) to plan for the show and arrange to pick up their weekly passes (Thanks Ray Allen Company).



Once the show started, Alex and his dad hit the grounds as "first timers." On Monday, around noon, they got interviewed live on EAA Radio with Bob Collins, in the sound booth overlooking the runway.


"Look at how MANY of them there are!"


Alex and me, near the Hombuilt Hangars, thinking about which classes to attend..

On Tuesday evening, they attended the Vans Aircraft Banquet, where they were recognized and received a standing ovation from the crowd for their bravery. As the show continued, Alex and Alejandro were really able to see most of the grounds at Airventure, thanks to the cart, including the EAA Museum, Camp Scholler, the Sea Base and the Pioneer Airport. They even took a ride in the Ford Tri-Motor.


Thumbs up, way up!


They even found time to relax by the pond near the Nature Pavillion and Compass Hill.



By far, the highlight of the trip was getting a ride in the only flying B-29 Superfortress in the world, FIFI. (Big thanks to the people at the CAF!).



Also a big thank you to Dwight Drefs for providing their transportation from Colorado to OSH and back in his new RV-10!


Preparing to depart Airventure 2012.

To see more pictures, check out this link to their web album:
https://plus.google.com/photos/113781809018215688676/albums/5770632288414869617?authkey=CNH97Nju5O7KDg#photos/113781809018215688676/albums/5770632288414869617?authkey=CNH97Nju5O7KDg

Thanks again and god bless to all who helped this kid's dream come true.

help with pics please

Moderator,

Could you please try to get the embedded images to work properly? For some reason, they didn't show up in the writeup. Thanks. [ed. Mike, you have the photo album set to 'Limited' access....try setting it to 'Public'. Wonderful story!!! dr]

My son and I recognized Alex and his father on monday morning (from pictures) at Aces Cafe. We introduced ourselves and they joined us for breakfast. We talked about their plans for the week. They sure seemed excited about all the activities ahead!

We ran into each other a couple times during the next few days, and they appeared to be having a great time.

It seems that there was a lot of "behind the scenes" activities to make this such a resounding success. I've seen many of the corporate sponsers and donors recognized, but I'd like to recognize all of the individuals who donated "enough to pay for a tank of gas" to the cause. I'm proud to associate with all of you!

Meeting Alex was truly an inspiration. His passion for aviation and joy for life poured out and brought a smile to the face of everyone he met. I wish I could have spent more time with him, but anyone who was able to meet will have that feeling too.

To everyone who contributed in any way: Thank You for helping make his wishes come true.

Alex, You are an amazing young man and I am honored to have met you.

All the best,

Mike
Thanks for posting this.
it is very pleasing to hear it was all a success.
Also, appreciation to you for all your efforts. We overseas folk can only help financially, but you and the others did all the work.

John

I spoke with Alex at Van's Banquet and he and his father were having a wonderful time which his pictures prove.

A big thanks has to go to Mike Rettig for all his time spent in organizing Alex's adventure.

A big thanks to all of those who donated "Tanks of Gas", big or little. You all bring a tear to my eye. What a wonderful group of people.

zilik said:

I spoke with Alex at Van's Banquet and he and his father were having a wonderful time which his pictures prove.

A big thanks has to go to Mike Rettig for all his time spent in organizing Alex's adventure.

A big thanks to all of those who donated "Tanks of Gas", big or little. You all bring a tear to my eye. What a wonderful group of people.

Click to expand...

Gary,

No thanks are necessary. It was my pleasure to "pay it forward" and I feel that I was well rewarded by seeing it through to the end. We received support from several aviation businesses and non-profits, as well as EAA and the CAF. However, none of it would have been possible without the VAF brethren. Doug Reeves has truly created something wonderful here on the web and we should remember his contributions to this and many other worthy causes, including helping us all to help each other.

Looks like a great trip

Mike,
It looks like it was a great trip for Alex and his father. He is quite a kid. What an experience for them and all involved. What a success - to truly make a difference in their life is a great thing. So many people not mentioned stepped up to the plate to make this happen - most who had never met Alex.

A couple I want to mention are Mike Dooley and Chad Jensen. Mike has been a volunteer at AV for years and part of Homebuilt HQ. With Chad, Mike was able to secure the golf cart allowing Alex and his father to see all of AV. That made the difference. Thanks to Homebuilt HQ and Mike for that. Mike also offered all the camping equipment they would need to camp on site and the use of his jeep if they needed to get into town. Thanks to Paul Merems, they were able to stay in style at the Christian School. There were offers of motor homes and I had one man - who did not want to be mentioned offer to bring a scooter for Alex and allow them to stay at his house. My partner also offered his Citation as a back up to Dwight's fantastic 10 flight so they could arrive in true RV style. Mike was also behind getting Alex and his father on the Tri-Motor Flight. That must have been an amazing flight for them.

To you Mike, great job all around. I know you spend many hours working out all the details. Did you have and idea what you got yourself involved in when you had Alex over to look at the -10 you are building? Wow! Most would have thought they had done their "duty" just showing the plane and felt good about that. After his flight with Gary at Front Range Airport Young Eagles, there was no way he wasn't going to AV. I know we talked about getting Make a Wish involved. This was way better - making it happen within our group. Thanks for all the work you did and letting us be involved.

No joy on the pictures

Maybe it's just me but I can't get any of the pictures to show...

Link Only

harleyl said:

Maybe it's just me but I can't get any of the pictures to show...

Click to expand...

Harley,

Unfortunately, the individual pics that I wanted to "highlight" didn't show up in my posting because of the properties settings on the album. The album link is the best way to look at the pictures. https://plus.google.com/photos/113781809018215688676/albums/5770632288414869617?authkey=CNH97Nju5O7KDg#photos/113781809018215688676/albums/5770632288414869617?authkey=CNH97Nju5O7KDg

I have asked Alejandro to change the album properties so everyone can view them. Hopefully they will show up for you. They really had a great time.

It was a pleasure meeting Alex and his Dad....

I was especially happy when they showed up at my camp site all excited about going to see the movie Red Tails at the the Fly in Theater, and that I was able to offer up a couple of chairs when they mentioned that they had none to sit in while at the movie.

I was really bumbed when they arrived back a short time later because mother nature had decided to unleash its fury on KOSH shortly after the movie started. Oh well, we tried at least.

On a final note, since his stay was cut a bit short due to travel plans, and he was not able to attend the night airshow and fireworks on Saturday night, I shot some video of that awesome event (as I am sure countless hundreds of others did also), and I will put together a DVD or something for him when I get a chance.

Kudos to you Mike, and to everyone else involved, but especially to Alex for beating that disease into submission enough to allow him to have a great experience up there.

My thoughts and a post from Alex

I returned home from Oshkosh and got back into the workweek grind. After setting into my normal routine I finally got a chance to post my thoughts and experiences with Alex and his father Alejandro Cuellar.

First off I want to personally thank everyone who contributed to a very successful “RV make a wish” for the Cuellar’s. I was just another RV guy who cared enough to put in a little time and energy to raise funds to help make a dream come true.

I arrived late Saturday night at the Christian School and was hoping to hear that Alex and Alejandro had arrived safely. They did and I found them in the common area putting a puzzle together. I have never met them before and only spoke to Alejandro the day before to arrange a few things and most importantly give them the money that was collected. I sat down and started talking with Alejandro and soon Alex joined in. Alex is a quite and reserved young man. When he speaks he truly has something to say.

The next day was a very important day. I Spend the good part of the morning making sure they got their wrist bands and found their golf cart. I can not emphasize enough how the golf cart was their magic carpet. As many know you do a tremendous amount of walking at Oshkosh and even for the seasoned Airventurer it is very tiring. It was record heat for a few days and when Alex was hot and tired they went to the museum. They found a pond near the museum with some shade trees and used it as a rest stop if Alex was feeling tired or weak. Alex surprise me because he seemed to have more energy then I did. He took in so many things at the show. He was interviewed on the EAA radio (by Bob Collins) and soon it will be available for downloading and I will post the link.

Meeting Alex and Alejandro was inspiring. I am a father as well and many times when listing to Alex tell about his struggle or when I was telling others about Alex it took all I had not to start crying.

I asked Alex to write up a brief summary of his trip. Here is what he sent.

Paul, can you post this on the website?

Going to Oshkosh was a lot of fun; I sat in Johnny Depps seat on the tri-motor, got to fly in the one of a kind B-29, saw George Lucas with the Tuskeegee Airmen, and got see so many great Airplanes. The coolest part of the trip was the B-29 ride, because it had such a great view from the gunners position on the top and in the back, and you could feel the history of such an aircraft. It was the type of plane that is terrifying and peacemaking at the same time.
Thank you Mike rettig for organizing this trip, Gary Zilik for the young eagles flight and the tremendous donation, Jim Berry for the second flight in the RV-10, Mike Dooley and Chad Jensen for the golf carts, Dwight Drefs for the ride to AirVenture, Paul Merems for raising the money for the trip, Oshkosh Christian School for the room, the Ray Allen Company, and all of the donors. And thank to anybody that I may have missed. You all made this trip so Amazing and you will forever be in my heart.


Thank you,
Alex

Alex and Alejandro are very special and if you ever get a chance to meet them you will be fortunate.

Once again thank you all for helping making this happen. We all did a great thing.

If Alex wants to go to Oshkosh next year, I am ready and willing to help make it happen again. I think he may want to volunteer at Airventure.

That was simply wonderful, Paul. Thank you, and Mike, and everyone that did this.

Kindest,
Doug

Alex

I was fortunate to be staying in the same room as Alex and Alejandro and yes they are truely two special people. This was my first trip to Oshkosh and spending time with them made the trip even more memorable.

Hope to see them again someday.

EAA radio

Bob Collins had a nice interview with them on the radio last week (Monday I think). I dont know if the radio shows are going to be available, but if they are it is worth giving it a listen.

Embedded Pictures

Sorry guys. i keep trying to fix the embedded photos in the first writeup, but I can't seem to get them to work. I even downloaded the few pics to a new album on Picasa and tried to embed them again. I guess I need to take a class from Scott Schmidt, who seems to have great pictoral writeups. Hopefully you all can still see the original album and can peruse their pics that way. As Paul said, it was a good thing we did for Alex and his family. Thanks again to everyone for their support.

This was something that just felt right in every sense of the word, and it worked out flawlessly to get Alex and Alejandro the experience we all envisioned for them.

Great work everyone, and I'm so happy to have met both of them last week.

Alex's Oshkosh Video - at Van's Dinner Banquet

Below is the video link from Vans Banquet where Alex talks to the 300+ people who attended.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OS8HYs4OJ4&list=UUdVSASOuu8Dp0kSyuRFBH5A&index=1&feature=plcp

He delivers a great message.

Big Thanks from Alex's Mom!

Hello VAF Family,

I wanted to write to express my gratitude towards all the wonderful people who made it possible for Alejandro and Alex to go to AirVenture.

It all started with a visit to Mike Rettig's house to see how he was building a plane in his garage. Alex was finally out of the hospital and slowly regaining energy after months of chemo/radiation and many weeks in the hospital, when he was finally good enough to go see how Mike was building an RV plane in is garage.

Mike was awesome, he explained things so well to Alex, and even let Alex rivet two pieces of metal together for practice. Alex did a great job, but did not last too long, he became very tired quickly, so his experience with Mike was fairly short. During that short visit Mike asked if Alex has ever been to Oshkosh, and Alex, replied, ?no?, but he would love to go.

Mike took the ball and ran with it, posting on the VAF forum, asking for help to get Alex to Oshkosh, and then boom, people started to donate time, money, and services. When I heard that this idea was becoming a reality, I was really excited for Alex, because he had a real rough year, and I just wanted nothing more than for Alex to start enjoying life again. Alex loves planes, and loves to fly them, so for him, to have the opportunity to go to Oshkosh, it was a dream come true.

This trip was not only for Alex, but his Dad too. Spending fun time with Alex was much needed. Alejandro took care of Alex a lot, while I still worked to maintain the health insurance and pay the bills. It was very hard on Alejandro, to see his son sick all day. I know, because it was very hard for me too. It took so much out of us, to not show Alex our fears and sadness.

Everyday we count our blessing and pray for continued recovery & remission. The one thing it taught our family, is to live life to the fullest. Take the time out of your busy schedule to spend time with your loved ones. Don't take things for granted. It also taught us that we now have an opportunity to give back. We want to help other families of a child with cancer through the rough times of cancer treatment, through volunteer work and support groups.

I want to thank to thank everyone who made this dream come true.

Mike Rettig ? thank you for making Alex's dream a reality, by dedicating a lot of time into planning and posting information to the VAF's website

Dwight Drefs ? thank you for flying Alejandro and Alex out to Oshkosh

Paul Mermens ? thank you for raising money for the trip

Gary Zilik for the young eagles flight and the tremendous donations

Jim Berry for taking Alex up in your awesome RV-10

Mike Dooley and Chad Jensen for the golf carts, Alex and Alejandro were able to see a lot more of Airventure, without getting too exhausted.

Oshkosh Christian School for the accommodation

& Ray Allen Company and all the other donors.

I want to also take this opportunity to thank Doug Reeves, for sending the proceeds of the annual VansAirForce.net baseball cap sale. We are just so touched by all the generosity and love.

Thank you!
Michelle Cuellar (Alex's Mom)

Thank you Doug Reeves!

Doug,

I want to personally thank you for creating this forum for airplane enthusiast to communicate/learn/grow from one another, and be a community of friends/family. Alex would not have been able to go to Oshkosh this year without Mike posting a request on this forum.

Not only did Alex go to Oshkosh, but he learned the power of a community coming together, donating time and money to help a young man fulfill a dream.

A check was received this weekend from you (VAF), and Avery Tools. It was unexpected and very nice gesture. It warms my heart to know how much people care about Alex and what he has gone through.

What you do by donating the proceeds every year to some unfortunate event, really makes a difference in someone's life. We will pay it forward.

With Love and Gratitude!
Michelle Cuellar (Alex's Mom)

[ed. May God Bless you and your family, Michelle. Thank you for the kind words. dr

Thing worth doing..

Michelle,

I'm not only glad that Alejandro and Alex had such a good time together, I'm glad I was able to be there and see them doing it. I could tell that had some great father/son moments at OSH, and I'm proud of the work Alex put into getting healthy enough for the trip. I'm also proud that the VAF community stepped up to make Alex's wish come true. Time definitely passes much faster than any of us are prepared for. I'm glad to have spent some of my time meeting your family and being part of this thing.

Mike