After 100 surgeries as a kid, Caleb Wolf is now a nurse!

 "Diagnosed at just two years old with Chiari malformations and pseudotumor cerebri, conditions that caused serious pain, seizures, cognitive issues, and vision problems, Wolf would go on to have more than 100 surgeries and treatments at Children’s Mercy Kansas City hospital in Missouri." 

"Wolf faced enormous challenges throughout his long-term stays as a pediatric patient, but fought, not just for himself, but for other patients like him who were forced to spend their holidays in the hospital. He founded a non-profit that gifted kids with holiday and other special gifts during their hospital stays, and then later, as an adult, he found the ultimate way to give back: He became a nurse himself and now works as a staff RN at the same hospital where he practically grew up." 

"At only the age of 12, Wolf and his friend Reagan started a group called Henson's Heroes, which supplies toys, gifts, holiday meals, and other items of enjoyment, comfort, and need to patients and their families. What started with a competition between friends to see who could get the most toys donated (spoiler: they filled two entire school buses!) quickly became a community tradition." 

"I was like, 'Okay, I get it now,'" Wolf says. "I kind of understand what's going on here. And that gave me the boost to kind of see, kind of the light at the end of the tunnel."

"Today, Henson's Heroes lives on through the hospital's annual Snowflake Shoppe, which allows parents and caregivers of inpatient and dialysis families to "shop" for gifts—donated by the community— without ever needing to leave the hospital. Community members or individuals can still donate online to continue Wolf's efforts with monetary donations that can be directed to the Snowflake Shoppe." 

Read more about Caleb at: https://nurse.org/news/nurse-caleb-wolf-childrens-hospital/

Cheers!

Donna