11-year-old cancer survivor from Wisconsin dies during Make-a-Wish trip to Lego store on New Year's Day
An 11-year-old boy from Wisconsin died during his Make-a-Wish trip to a Lego store inside the Mall of America. Mikey Choroszy, who had terminal brain cancer, was rushed to a local Minneapolis hospital during his trip where he ended up breath his last on New Year's Day.
Mikey's brother, Jake Choroszy, had also flown in from South Dakota for the special visit to the Lego store. The child's mother, Tammy Wildish, said that Mikey was doing "really good" during the trip but his health took a sudden turn for the worse.
"On Monday, we did a lot of shopping and he was doing really good," Wildish said, according to WTMJ-TV. "Mikey took a decline very quickly."
"The biggest thing was watching him die, that was the worst," she said. “Going from walking to not walking at all to the point where we had to pick him up and move him.”
Wildish told the outlet that her son's battle with cancer began nearly 15 months ago when he was diagnosed with a tumor on his brain stem. He was reportedly in remission last year. However, Mikey began to experience regular headaches in September, a GoFundMe campaign set up by a family friend stated. The 11-year-old was re-diagnosed with another germ cell tumor after he paid a visit to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
The campaign page described the child as "the biggest and best fighter" who was fighting for his brother Robbie who passed away in January 2019 from health issues.
"He was a fighter, he never gave up,” Wildish told the outlet. “He was doing this for his brother. He would not give up." Mikey's body was returned to Wisconsin over the weekend and his family is expected to hold a funeral service for him on Wednesday.
A friend of the family, Jennifer Blease, in an update on the campaign page wrote: "Mikey just had one of the kindest souls and always had a smile on his face. He was always an encourager and showed others how to be brave. Mikey is truly my hero and I will miss his goofy side as well."
The GoFundMe page, which was aiming for a fund accumulation of $20,000, has received double the amount, and is scheduled to be shut down after Mikey's funeral.