Meet Kaitlin, The Dauntless Young Initiate Who Met Theo James and The Insurgent Cast via the Make-A-Wish Foundation

Posted by On September 01, 2014 0 Comment

Kaitlin Lehman, a courageous girl who has been battling Rhabdomyosarcoma (a soft tissue cancer) since May 2013, had her wish to meet Theo James come true last week. It was Make-A-Wish Day on the Insurgent set last Monday, and while Kaitlin was set to go and meet her idol, it didn’t quite turn out that way. You see, unfortunately Kaitlin had a little pool accident a couple of days before her wish day, which resulted in her getting a hairline fracture on her shin bone and her leg to get splinted. She was heartbroken as she and her family were told that she would not be able to get casted right away and would need to be on a wheelchair for a few days. Kaitlin didn’t want to meet Theo this way, so she requested to postpone her trip. Her mother posted the following via Kaitlin’s Facebook Page:

“The Make a Wish team has said that in their 20 years doing celebrity wishes, they’ve never seen a production company and actor go through all the stops for a wish kid…so this was going to be one humdinger of a wish thanks to Theo James. So…up in the air and praying she feels better tomorrow!!!!”

Understandably, Kaitlin was upset about the circumstances and not being able to make it to the set, but a day later, her little frown would get turned upside down. In her mother’s words:

“Well, Kaitlin had requested to postpone her Make-a-Wish until her leg healed and she was out of a cast… But they called today and told us the production company would postpone a few days for her. When does that ever happen??!! They are moving the production schedule of Insurgent for our little Dauntless??!! WOW. Kaitlin really struggled with this decision, tears were shed and ultimately she realized this was a once in a lifetime chance. So we are going! Leaving sometime in the next 48 hours! Our home finally had some positivity tonight!! She sees an orthopedist tomorrow to hopefully replace the splint with a cast to provide for a little more mobility. Yay!!”

10599647_322215247941450_7280462641132701049_n So a day later Kaitlin made it to the set and met Theo and the cast of Insurgent. Her wish came true. Kaitlin’s mother expressed her thanks by saying:

“Thank you Make-A-Wish Tri-Counties, Make-A-Wish Atlanta, Theo, Shai, Ansel, Toni, Kerri, Jesse, the Producers and everyone who made today absolutely magical! It was way beyond Kaitlin’s wildest expectations!! We couldn’t take pics or share details until the movie release…it’s all our secret!!! And amazing news Kaitlin was invited to the premier in March!! Feeling so blessed and inspired by such kind and thoughtful people who took sooo much time to hang out with my girl & our family today!!! It was truly Wish come true!!! Tomorrow we are sightseeing around Atlanta!”

I can only imagine what an amazing experience this must have been for her and the efforts that went into making this all happen. I chatted with Kaitlin’s mom earlier today and while she cannot share any details about the set visit until after the movie airs, she did want to share her feelings about the Make-A-Wish Foundation and urge us to help in any way we can:

“It would mean a lot highlight September as Childhood Cancer Awareness month! Make-A-Wish is an amazing organization and they couldn’t do it without donations of time, money and miles!!”

You see, Kaitlin wouldn’t have been able to experience this had it not been for the generous donations from people like you and I. She even got to meet Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, John Green, Nat Wolff, Willem Dafoe, Sam Trammell and Director Josh Boone and the The Fault in Our Stars blue carpet premiere.

How can you help make kids like Kaitlin’s dreams come true? Well, like Kaitlin’s mom said, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, so let’s spread she word about these things that we can do to help Kaitlin and Pediatric Cancer:

  1. LIKE Kaitlin’s Village & her cancer friends pictures and updates. When you LIKE something, it shows up in your friend’s news feeds, which increases awareness! Post your words of encouragement. Kaitlin’s mom will be posting “30 Days of Childhood Cancer Facts and Acts” to educate all followers on the facts of childhood cancer. Let’s show Kaitlin & all the other kids battling cancer that they are not in this fight alone!
  2. RUN! Sign up for RocktheRun to benefit pediatric cancer research. Team Kaitlin T-Shirts will be available soon:http://www.shredkidscancer.org/Rock_The_Run_5K.php
  3. Not a runner? Volunteer to help atRockTheRun or be a sponsor http://www.shredkidscancer.org/Volunteer_.html
  4. Donate Blood! At CHLA or at theBlood Drive Sept 4th (details soon)
  5. Host a lemonade stand or cupcake store and donate the proceeds to The Bumblebee Foundation to help Kaitlin and other local families battling pediatric cancer in need!  http://www.bumblebeefoundation.org/
  6. Postcards4Kaitlin: Send postcards from anywhere and everywhere with notes of encouragement as part of the Postcards4Kaitlin campaign.  Mail to: Kaitlin, c/o Melissa Black, 9 School Street,Sunderland, MA 01375
  7. Join the Run for the White Houseto generate awareness for Pediatric Cancer: https://www.facebook.com/events/129786293855902/
  8. Donate new games, toys and books to CHLA or your local children’s hospital. Have a special creative talent? Share it at the kids’ playroom and organize a special activity!  http://www.chla.org/site/c.ipINKTOAJsG/b.3579193/k.1EA7/Get_Involved__Donate_Blood__Toys__Volunteer.htm#.Uf3kYmRoTKQ
  9. Write to your Congress person to help get more funding for pediatric cancer. Here’s a template and info on where to send here: http://www.shredkidscancer.org/Letter_to_Congress.htm
  10. Participate in, volunteer, pledge or otherwise get involved in the Nautica Malibu Triathalon which raised over$1M for the CHLA Cancer Research team last year!  http://www.nauticamalibutri.com/
  11. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Spread the word by dressing up your blog or place of business with one of these buttons and visit the Jessie Rees Foundation site for more ways that you can help!

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