KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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Kids being treated at Children's Mercy in Kansas City got a front-row seat to its fourth annual holiday light show featuring area first responders.
Police cars, firetrucks and motorcycles lined the hospital, turning on their lights to spread holiday cheer.
More than 700 patients also got a special holiday surprise at Children's Mercy on Wednesday.
KSHB 41 News introduced you to a young man from Johnson County using his once-in-a-lifetime wish to give back. On Tuesday, he got some assistance from Chiefs superstars Chris Jones and Mike Danna, who helped shop for his Make-A-Wish toy drive.
On Wednesday night, Jack Punswick's wish came true. Hundreds of people donated holiday cheer by giving to Punswick's toy drive for pediatric patients at Children's Mercy.
It can be hard for kids to get into the holiday spirit when they're sick and in the hospital, but Punswick knows getting a gift can be as important as the medicine itself.
"I haven't stopped smiling," Punswick said. "As soon as I walked in, I was like, Oh my goodness, look how many there are."
Punswick's wish brought in more than 700 toys from Missouri, Kansas and the country.
The assistant director of in-kind giving and community groups at Children's Mercy explained that the toy drive is bringing a sense of normalcy and joy during the holiday season.
"[Kids] can be dreaming and have hope and just be a normal child and play while they're here," Stephanie Easley said. "It means the world to our patients and families."
Christmas at Children's Mercy looks different for Punswick this year. He raised and received gifts that represent hope instead of getting chemotherapy for Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
"When I look back on my inpatient stay, I remember getting Legos and building that Lego," Punswick said. "I remember the joy it brought me at that time, and I hope that each one of these gifts brings that joy to those kids as well."
Punswick won his battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in April, after getting diagnosed in his senior year.
"It was a daily battle, and you have to win every day," Punswick said.
Make-A-Wish specialists tell kids to wish for what brings them joy. For Punswick, that meant bringing holiday magic to Children's Mercy in the form of toys.
"That's a happiness that can't be bought," Punswick said.
But no one's happier than his family, celebrating the holidays cancer-free.
"Look where he was last year, and look what he has been able to accomplish with the support of all his providers at Children's Mercy, all of the people in our community that surrounded him and our family through this journey, and in all the people across the nation who have seen him and seen this story saying 'I want to be able to help and be a part of that wish,'" mom Karen Punswick said.
That wish is giving joy to hundreds of kids fighting their toughest battles.
"This is what the holiday is all about," Make-A-Wish specialist Sarah McCracken said. "It's about giving and we can all just be inspired by Jack and his wish."
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