Wish granted
Eight-year-old Harper Pursley holds her rabbit "Carrots." Make-a-Wish Idaho and the Coeur Group partnered up and granted her wish for a grand bunny barn.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Borg/SevenNine Media
Eight-year-old Harper Pursley reacts to seeing "Harper's Homestead" for the first time. Harper's mother Chelsea Pursley on the left and Melissa Menke, a Make-a-Wish granter, member of the Coeur Group and Hagadone Hospitality employee.
Volunteers and members of the Coeur Group working on the construction of "Harper's Homestead." About twenty volunteers spent three days building the structure in cooperation with the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Idaho.
Harper Pursley enjoys the interior of her bunny barn. Other than a dwelling for her bunny "Carrots", "Harper's Homestead" includes a cozy lounge area, art supplies, books, lighting and exterior landscaping. Her wish was granted last week by Make-a-Wish Idaho and the Coeur Group.
SPIRIT LAKE—Eight year old Harper Pursley made a wish for a fabulous bunny barn - a hang out spot with rainbow lights, purple walls and comfy seating.
And of course a bunny rabbit.
The Make-a-Wish Foundation of North Idaho, the Coeur Group and a team of volunteers recently came together and granted that wish.
Completely unaware of the upcoming surprise, Harper walked around the corner and saw it for the first time.
“I cried,” Harper said. “My heart was so happy.”
More like a bunny palace, “Harper’s Homestead” took about 20 volunteers three days to build. It has electricity and the exterior is fully landscaped with sod, fencing and flowers.
The inside is “really nice,” Harper said. “I have a rainbow light, if you press a button it changes all the colors and I have my own little room with beanbags and a new blanket.”
Art supplies, books, pillows and a moveable hutch for the bunny named “Carrots” complete the arrangement.
“He has long droopy ears and he’s super fluffy,” Harper said. “And he’s starting to hop really good.”
Harper’s mother Chelsea said that Harper loves animals and space to herself and they came up with the idea as a family.
“Harper is a very special child - she is kind, loving and caring,” Chelsea said. “Even with everything that she’s dealt with, she always has a smile on her face.”
Harper suffers from an extremely rare disease called ROHHAD syndrome. There are less than 200 people in the world diagnosed with it, Chelsea said.
ROHHAD is an acronym for rapid onset obesity with hypothalamic dysfunction, hypoventilation and autonomic dysregulation.
“Harper’s hypothalamus doesn’t communicate necessary signals to her body,” Chelsea said. “Any auto-function regulation in the body, hers doesn’t have.”
Harper uses a BiPAP machine at night that breathes for her, she has a pacemaker because her brain doesn’t tell her heart to beat, and her body cannot automatically regulate its sodium levels.
Monitoring Harper’s condition is ongoing and the condition is terminal.
Harper works regularly with multiple specialists at Sacred Heart Hospital and Seattle Children’s Hospital and was hospitalized six times this last year, Chelsea said.
Taylor Fore, a Hagadone Hospitality employee, is a Make-a-Wish granter and member of the Coeur Group. The two organizations partnered on the project which he said took about two years to bring to fruition.
“It was great to see the community rally together to grant this wish for the family,” Fore said. “About 20 guys worked on it all weekend.”
The process took about two years total. Fore acted as a liaison between Make-a-Wish and the Pursley family.
Fore took Harper’s wish to the members of the Coeur Group and they wanted to help. Make-a-Wish provided financial support and the Coeur Group provided the man-power, Fore said.
Materials were donated by numerous businesses from within the Coeur Group.
Jeremy Sells, a Coeur Group member and owner of Honey Dew Handy Man acted as the general contractor. Fore and fellow Hagadone Hospitality employee Melissa Menke provided the rabbit. The Coeur d’Alene Resort donated a couple nights' stay so the family could get away while construction was completed.
It was a great community effort, Fore said.
Currently 27 wishes in North Idaho are waiting to be granted, Fore said.
Involvement in Make-a-Wish does not always require a monetary donation, Fore said.
There are lots of projects that need donations of time and materials.
To get involved email Taylor Fore at tfore@cdaresort.com or contact Make-a-Wish Idaho at 208-345-9474.