Kids Wish Network grants wish to Pomona boy

Orlando Johnson from Pomona, suffering from hydrocephalus, had his wish to visit the Florida theme parks granted through national children's charity, Kids Wish Network.

According to the charity, the 5-year-old had originally said he wanted to be Spiderman.

Although the wish coordinator assigned to him at national children's charity Kids Wish Network could not make that particular crime-fighting dream come true, she did offer him a fun alternative: how about meeting Spiderman at his "home" in Universal Studios in Florida?

When Orlando was just three months old, he was diagnosed with having hydrocephalus - a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid in the skull - caused by a hemorrhage which was blocking the flow of blood to his brain.

Doctors implanted a shunt in the infant's head to drain the fluid, but, unfortunately, it was placed incorrectly and had to be revised through yet another surgery. Orlando's hydrocephalus later caused cerebral palsy, a condition that blocks the brain's messages to the body's muscles.

Orlando's grandmother was the one who referred him to Kids Wish Network to possibly have a wish granted.

Orlando and his family found themselves on their way to a fun family getaway, following an itinerary that provided dinners, accommodations and tickets to every theme park that Orlando wanted to visit, especially Universal Studios.

"I felt so overwhelmed at first," said Orlando's mom, Vanessa. "But when we got the itinerary with everything laid out, I felt a lot better...it was a real treat!"

In addition to Universal Studios, Orlando and his family visited SeaWorld, the Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom. At each park, Orlando, his parents and his older sister Mercedes thoroughly enjoyed themselves while riding rides, watching the parades and just enjoying the vacation.

Orlando's trip was made possible through the assistance of Compassion Partners, Royal Plaza Hotel, The California Pizza Kitchen, Wonderworks, Pirate's Dinner Adventure Theater and Dollar Thrifty Automotive.

Information on Kids Wish Network: 888-918-9004 or www.kidswishnetwork.org