Girl spent Make-A-Wish request to visit Lehigh Valley spots

May 22nd, 2015 | In The News

Written by Lynn Olanoff for Lehigh Valley Live

Historic Bethlehem Make-A-Wish trip

Naomi Wilson plays at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts interactive dollhouse exhibit with her sister and costumed employee Katy Molinaro at part of her Make-A-Wish trip to Bethlehem. (Lynn Olanoff | For lehighvalleylive.com)

Most Make-A-Wish trips are to Disney World, or exotic locations like Hawaii, France and Australia.

Naomi Wilson’s Make-A-Wish request included a tour of Bethlehem‘s historic district.

The 7-year-old’s mother was raised in the Bath area, and the Wilsons have a lot of family in Pennsylvania. So for Naomi’s Make-A-Wish trip, she, her parents and her six siblings were flown from their home near Las Vegas to Pennsylvania to visit family in Bethlehem and Altoona and to attend a family reunion at Knoebels Amusement Resort.

Naomi is recently recovered from a severe case of aplastic anemia, a bone marrow disease that weakens the immune system and is often fatal if untreated. She received a bone marrow transplant from her eldest brother in January 2014, and has been improving since, said her mother, Kristy Wilson.

“This was the first place she wanted to travel,” Kristy Wilson said. “She wanted to come back and see friends and family.”

Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites Director of Visitor Experience Melanie Depcinski said she was a bit surprised but excited to receive a request from Make-A-Wish, which provides trips and other significant experiences to children with life-threatening illnesses. Historic Bethlehem had never before received a Make-A-Wish request, but the organization put together a custom tour Thursday of its historic blacksmith shop and interactive dollhouse exhibit at the Kemerer Museum for Decorative Arts.

“They’re going to get to see where their family is from and have a good time,” Depcinski said. “We want to make sure they have the best experience possible.”

Wilson’s husband, Aaron, interned at Historic Bethlehem while he was a student at Kutztown University, and Kristy Wilson had a close connection to Bethlehem through many years of dance and baton classes at Cheryl Chickey’s All American Performing Arts Center.

“We wanted to come back to this area so the kids could see where I twirled and danced,” Kristy Wilson said.

Naomi’s throat was hurting her because of being at Knoebels in the cold the day before, but she tried on some of the museum’s period costumes and played in the dollhouses with her sisters. The five Wilson sisters were all given the museum’s special historic dolls to take home while the two Wilson brothers got gifts including Colonial-era games.

The family was planning a visit to the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. site later in the day. Kristy Wilson had family that worked at Steel, and the whole family is very interested in rail lines, she said.

“It’s gone really fast, but everyone has had a great time,” Kristy Wilson said of the family’s trip.

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