LAKE PLACID — Eight-year-old Tiago Cusano of Miami, Florida, has never seen snow, but the native Floridian developed a fascination for bobsledding while watching the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics during an extended hospitalization for cancer treatment.

When Cusano was notified that he was eligible for a wish by the Make-A-Wish Southern Florida Chapter, the work began to determine what he wanted to do more than anything.

  Through the efforts of the Miami-based wish professionals, working in conjunction with Make- A-Wish Northeast New York, Cusano is getting his wish as he travels with his family to Lake Placid this weekend. He will stay at the Mirror Lake Inn; attend the World Cup bobsled and skeleton competitions with members of the U.S. bobsled team; tour the U.S. Olympic Training Center, the U.S. bobsled and luge training facilities, and the Olympic Jumping Complex; take a snowboard lesson at Whiteface Mountain; see the sites of the Olympic village; and ride in a bobsled.

  Wishes like Cusano’s are the work of the 60 chapters of the Make-A-Wish America organization. Founded in 1980, Make-A-Wish America and its associate chapters strive to grant the heartfelt wishes of children, ages 2 1/2 to 18, with critical medical conditions. It is the belief of Make-A- Wish that the fulfillment of a wish contributes to the hope, strength and joy experienced by the child, potentially contributing to the healing process.

  “We are thrilled to have been asked by our colleagues in Southern Florida to assist with this wish,” stated William C. Trigg, III, chief executive officer of Make-A-Wish Northeast New York. “Wishes like this are not without their complexity. In that regard, we would like to express our profound thanks to our partners from the Mirror Lake Inn (and particularly our trustee, Olympic ski medalist Andrew Weibrecht), the Olympic Regional Development Authority, the U.S. Olympic Training Center at Lake Placid, Whiteface Mountain, the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, the U.S. Luge Federation, and Mr. Mike’s Pizza. Through their generosity and support, Tiago and his family will have an experience of Olympic proportion.”

“Tiago’s experience this week is proof positive that wishes really do come true,” Make-A-Wish Southern Florida President & CEO Norm Wedderburn said. “Thanks to everyone who has contributed, this 8-year-old’s simple dream to go bobsledding is taking on a life of its own.”