This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sean Anderson has seen plenty of hospitals and ambulances in his 18 years, but on Wednesday his trip aboard a helicopter ambulance was nothing but a joy ride.
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah and University of Utah AirMed teamed up to give the Stansbury Park youth a ride from Tooele to the U. and back to Tooele Wednesday morning.
Anderson's wish was to ride in a helicopter, but Make-A-Wish coordinators were having trouble arranging such a ride because of his medical needs, said Nathan Morreale, outreach coordinator for AirMed.
The 18-year-old was born with muscular dystrophy, and uses a ventilator to help him breathe. "So what better way to grant his wish than to put him on a medical helicopter?" Morreale said.
Anderson's father rode with him, and his mother and sister met them at the U. hospital. The pilot gave the Andersons a tour of the Salt Lake Valley, flying over the Kennecott mine and up the Cottonwood canyons, Morreale said.
"He's not much for words, but his father said the one word he could say was 'Good,' and he had a smile on his face,'" Morreale said.
Twitter: @KristenMoulton