Dean is 12 years old, loves T-Rex dinosaurs, Godzilla, and building Legos with his family — and he survived a heart transplant in 2024 that he simply calls “his gift.” This fall, Make-A-Wish Nevada granted him a trip to Universal Studios Orlando, where he finally got to chase down the dinosaurs that have captivated him for years.
Dean's story was shared as part of a recurring feature called Make-A-Wish Monday, according to KSNV, which detailed how the Las Vegas boy wanted to visit Universal Studios Orlando specifically because of the Jurassic Park rides and his lifelong love of dinosaurs. Make-A-Wish Nevada granted that wish, sending Dean and his family to Orlando, Florida, where they explored the park together. The station's report frames the trip as a celebration following his successful heart transplant surgery two years earlier.
A Milestone Year for Wishes Statewide
Dean's wish arrives during a notable stretch for Make-A-Wish Nevada. In March 2026, the organization granted its 3,000th wish statewide. In Southern Nevada specifically, the chapter has granted more than 2,300 wishes to children in Las Vegas and surrounding counties since establishing its branch there in 1996, per Make-A-Wish Nevada.
As of May 30, 2026, Make-A-Wish Nevada was serving more than 250 children across the state, the same 2news.com report noted. That figure underscores how many Nevada families are still waiting for a moment like the one Dean's family just experienced.
The Medical Reality Behind 'His Gift'
Dean's description of his transplant as a gift carries weight against national data on how rare and serious these procedures are. U.S. surgeons performed 490 pediatric heart transplants in 2024, a 19.2% increase compared to 2013 figures, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration's OPTN/SRTR 2024 Annual Data Report. About 88.8% of pediatric heart transplants nationwide were performed at Status 1A, the highest urgency designation set by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, which generally requires hospital admission or mechanical circulatory support.
Children who do receive a donor heart have reason for optimism afterward. Federal data shows pediatric heart transplant recipients maintain a 92.3% one-year post-transplant survival rate and an 83.9% five-year survival rate, figures that help contextualize why Dean speaks about his 2024 surgery in such personal terms.
Why Orlando, and Why Dinosaurs
Dean's choice of destination fits a well-worn pattern among wish kids nationwide. Roughly half of all U.S. children who qualify for a wish through organizations like Make-A-Wish choose to visit Orlando and its theme parks, according to nonprofit resort operator Give Kids The World Village. Founded in 1986 by Holocaust survivor Henri Landwirth, the 89-acre Kissimmee resort has hosted more than 200,000 wish families with cost-free accommodations during their Central Florida theme park visits.
For a boy obsessed with T-Rex dinosaurs and Godzilla, Universal Islands of Adventure offered an obvious draw. The park features dinosaur-focused attractions including the Jurassic World VelociCoaster — Florida's fastest launch coaster, reaching 70 mph in 2.4 seconds — alongside the Jurassic Park River Adventure water ride, per Universal Orlando Resort.
Local Support Keeps Wishes Coming
Wishes like Dean's don't happen without sustained local fundraising. In April 2026, Make-A-Wish Nevada hosted its annual Walk for Wishes fundraiser at the Las Vegas Grand Prix Plaza, according to Las Vegas Weekly.
Families interested in learning more about the wish process, or in supporting children like Dean who are still waiting, can find information through Make-A-Wish Nevada at wish.org/nv. As of May 30, 2026, more than 250 Nevada children were being served by the organization; Dean's trip to Orlando stands as one small, hard-won victory in a much longer statewide effort.
