DAVENPORT, Iowa — With the holiday season underway, one family in Davenport is making sure their loved one with terminal cancer receives his Christmas wish.
52-year-old Cory Ziolkowski has been battling cancer for over eight years and is currently in hospice care. His wife, Glenda, wanted to do something special for him and that's when she came across the James Bess Foundation, which grants final dreams to adults ages 21 through 65 with a terminal illness.
"We knew there was a Make-A-Wish out there," she said, adding that she wanted to find something doing similar work for adults. "We really wanted to go on a cruise so they were going to send us to Mexico and the Caribbean."
Unfortunately, Glenda said Cory's illness continued to progress and needed to be placed in hospice care, leaving him unable to travel. After some brainstorming, she and the foundation came up with a plan: create a special Christmas for Cory.
"He loves Christmas," Glenda said. "I haven't been able to decorate for three years because I've been the caretaker." Between moving into a new home and taking care of her husband and two daughters, she said decorating for the holidays became an added stressor.
The foundation reached out to a local church to make it happen. Volunteers from the First Baptist Church in Davenport helped decorate the Ziolowski's home and brought over some yummy holiday food, with the costs completely covered. Finally, carolers and the family came together to sing some classic Christmas songs including "Joy to the World" and "Deck the Halls."