UTICA, Mich. (WXYZ) — Nahum Poulleth, 12, and his family arrived at Sarge & Red’s Toys and Collectibles in Utica for a shopping spree on Tuesday. However, the spree was unlike any other.
Nahum was born with a condition called bile duct paucity, suffering from severe jaundice and weakness.
On Tuesday, he took home a collection of toys from "Star Wars" and Marvel.
His parents said he spent the first 13 months of his life in and out of hospitals and received a life-changing liver transplant at 13 months old.
They're grateful he’s been fine ever since.
He’s been granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Make-A-Wish Michigan said Nahum's medical team — the liver transplant team at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital — recommended his family to the organization.
"This will always be a moment I will remember. This is so cool. I love collecting this stuff and I thought this — that I can never afford — I finally can get it now,” Nahum told 7 Action News.
Toy shop owners John and Denise Davis said this all started when Nahum left a letter at their door in April. In it, he expressed his love of toys and collectibles.
Denise Davis posted TikTok videos of it.
"My most wanted wish is a shopping spree at your store, aka the coolest store in the world. My favorite movie character is Chucky, 1988, the original," she said in one video.
"I’m trying not to cry," Denise Davis told 7 Action News.
John Davis said, "It’s more than just a toy store. It’s an experience. That’s what we always say. We always try to make it fun here."
Denise Davis addsed said, "It’s the feeling. It’s the feeling and the connection and what it brings. It’s more than just the stuff.”
Make-A-Wish said it is granting the most wishes in the Michigan chapter’s history this year: 475 wishes. Sixty of them are shopping sprees.
“I have been with Make-A-Wish for almost 10 years and... when you see a wish comes true, it just warms your heart,” Sherri Collins, chief diversity and engagement officer for Make-A-Wish Michigan, said. “And the only way wishes are possible is through community support. So, it’s so important for people to support to help make wishes like Nahum’s come true.”
