Wish On: 13-year-old receives special gift as leukemia treatment nears completion

On Friday, July 21, the Northport Yacht Club hosted a fundraising regatta in which 13-year-old Sullivan Carey (best known as Sully) was presented with a special gift by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. Three and a half years after being diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia, Sully was given a 2008 Boston Whaler 110 Sport named “Wish On.”

“Sully is the sweetest, most witty and charming young boy you will ever meet,” his mother, Nicole Carey, said of her son. Carey explained that when Sully was diagnosed with cancer in 2020, he wasn’t able to participate in team sports during his chemotherapy treatments. That’s why he gravitated toward fishing, she explained. “He found a love for simpler things.”

“As a parent, to have something beautiful happen for him on the back end of his treatment, which he can take with him as he journeys into his remission, is very, very special,” Carey told the Journal.

During the presentation of his granted wish, Sully was surrounded by family, including his parents, brother and sister, aunts, uncles and grandparents. “It was an emotional day for me, personally,” Carey explained. “When your child gets diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, it’s really hard to see anything except for what is right in front of you. As we come to the end of his treatment, I can honestly say I have been blessed with a community of support and that has definitely helped me get through the last three and a half years.”

The Northport Yacht Club hosts a yearly regatta fundraiser and has raised over $175,000 for wishes like Sully’s to come true. Additionally, for Sully’s wish, Cross County Trailers and Venture Trailers worked together to obtain a donation for a new aluminum Venture trailer, and KG Marine will be installing a new 2023 Yamaha 25 horsepower engine, which was donated by Make-A-Wish. Sully also received a VHF radio, Sea Tow membership, vinyl boat name, plus paid winterizing, boat registration and sales tax, all donated by a number of local businesses.

Carey said there are no words to adequately summarize what it meant to see her son smile on Friday. “That joy, that excitement, that moment – I will bottle up forever,” she shared. Sully is scheduled to complete his treatment on September 13, 2023. With his wish of owning a fishing boat granted, he’ll be spending his free time on Northport Harbor, doing what he’s grown to love.

Sully’s family wishes to thank the following people and businesses for their contributions:
Make-A-Wish Metro New York
Seymour’s Boatyard
KG Marine
Cross Country Trailers
Eclipse Signs
Bob Doherty, Chairman of Northport Yacht Club Regatta
Northport Yacht Club
Dave Weber, Jr.