‘Magical’ wish granted for Draper’s Olivia Lovell

This holiday season, a local child with a rare genetic disorder that causes neurological degeneration was granted a wish to make her birthday magical.

Draper resident Olivia Lovell turned 9-years old in November. Because her birthday this year happened to fall on a day many people believed was a “magical” time to make a wish, Nov. 11, 2011 or 11-11-11, the Utah Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation hosted a special birthday party in her honor.

Olivia’s mother, Jill Lovell said the elaborate birthday party was the perfect gift for both Olivia and their family.

She said her daughter, who needs help with all of her daily activities, enjoys watching musicals and gets special pleasure from singing the birthday song.

“[Olivia] loves everything about birthdays. [The Make-A-Wish Foundation] really did a wonderful job on her party,” Lovell said.

The Lovell family has lived in Draper for more than 10 years. Jill and her husband, Wesley have two daughters, Olivia and her 12-year old sister, Sophie.

Olivia was diagnosed with MPS 3, a form of mucopolysaccharidoses, when she was 3years old.

Lovell said she was concerned when Olivia was slow to reach developmental milestones, but it took a while before the doctors knew what was wrong. She said the family was stunned to learn that Olivia’s illness would eventually cause her to lose the ability to walk and talk.

“We couldn’t really wrap our brain around everything that was going to happen,” Lovell said.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization, grants wishes to children between the ages of 2 and 18-years old with life-threatening medical conditions.

Olivia’s special birthday party was held at the Make-A-Wish Foundation offices in Murray. More than 100 friends, family and loved ones attended the party, themed after the “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” movie.

Party-goers enjoyed an elaborate birthday cake decorated to look like Wonka’s river of chocolate, received chocolate bars with special “Golden Tickets” for prizes and dipped treats such as strawberries and marshmallows into a chocolate fountain.

For a moment during each hour of the party, everyone would stop and sing Olivia’s favorite song, “Happy Birthday to You,” in her honor. In addition, Olivia was also given a special stained-glass star ornament, which was raised to the ceiling of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Lovell said the family would never forget the party or the moment that Olivia’s star was raised.

“It was so touching,” Lovell said.

Lovell said the family had appreciated the outpouring of concern and generosity from close friends, extended family, the community and the people of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.