Our family was flying on a Make-A-Wish trip for my sick son — halfway through the flight, the pilot said, “Mike, there’s one thing about this trip that you and your parents know nothing about.”

No destination.

No explanation.

Mike unfolded his.

The easy smile vanished from his face.

“I’ve made these.”

Stella turned toward him.

“What?”

The captain began telling a story.

Months earlier, on the pediatric oncology floor of a hospital several states away, a little boy named Nolan stopped speaking.

He refused food.

He fought the nurses when they touched continue reading …