KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Editor's Note: If you'd like to donate to Make-A-Wish of East Tennessee, click here.
We are less than six months away from the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and we are excited to start the countdown with a special series to benefit Make-A-Wish of East Tennessee.
Make-A-Wish creates changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Like the athletes in the Olympics -- these children face adversity with bravery, determination and lots of support.
For the next six months leading up to the Summer Olympics, we are teaming up with children from Make-A-Wish East Tennessee to show you that they, too, have the heart of a champion.
Thursday's featured kid is named Sicilee Thomason. She will be teaming up with WBIR's Abby Ham and will cheer her on as she trains at D1 Knoxville in track and field.
Like most seven-going-on-eight-year-olds, Sicilee loves to play, giggle and sparkle. She enjoys cheerleading, and of course, she's a "Swiftie." But don't be fooled by this "girlie girl." The sparkles hide a true grit she's had since birth.
"When she was little, I often thought I was doing something wrong. She didn't want to cooperate at doctors' offices and stuff like that. The doctors kept telling me this fierceness, this sassiness she has, it's going to serve her well. She's going to fight and she's not going to back down, and they're right," her mother, Jessica Thomason, said.
Sicilee was born with cystic fibrosis, which causes thick mucus to build up in her organs -- in particular: her lungs. Her mom oversees many medical treatments every day.
“Sicilee has a vest, and what that vest does is it shakes around her lungs to help keep that mucus free and clear and helps her to be able to breathe a little better. While she’s doing that she’ll also do breathing treatments. We do those twice a day when she’s well and up to four times a day when she’s sick,” Jessica said.
Despite the diagnosis, Sicilee manages to keep up with her friends in cheer. She's hoping to master a handspring soon.
"I don't give up. I feel like if it's one of my goals and I work to it and if I really want it, I can't stop so I can get that goal and keep on reaching to it," Sicilee said.
That's why Sicilee chose swimming with the dolphins in Florida as her Make-A-Wish dream.
"They make really pretty jumps out of the water and I Just like how they color and how they are nice to humans and stuff," she said.
Her mother said she's happy to see her daughter get a wish, but admits it's bittersweet.
"It makes you a little sad because you never want your child to be ill, but then it also just really warms your heart there are generous people who donate," Jessica said.
Sicilee and her mom will take their trip later this year -- bringing her sunny disposition to the Sunshine State.
"She just lights up any room. anybody who meets here will tell you she's special... and I don't just say that because she's mine. But she just keeps pushing," Jessica said.