Make-A-Wish grants 13-year-old’s shopping spree wish

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A car dealership in northeast Albuquerque hopped on board the nationwide Week of Wishes to meet an extra special request from a teen who just beat brain cancer. 

It was a moment 13-year-old Alejandro “Ale” Montano-Graham has been waiting for.

“He’s been counting down every day waiting for this moment. So he’s been looking forward to it,” said Leonard Graham, Ale’s father. 

The day all his wishes came true.

“Ale wanted to go on a shopping spree. He is 13 years old, and so that’s a very exciting thing to be able to go into a store and buy whatever you want,” said Sara Lister, president & CEO of Make-A-Wish New Mexico. 

Make-A-Wish New Mexico and Garcia Subaru North already did some shopping for Ale and his siblings.

Meanwhile, a limo driver waited outside to take them to buy even more.

“He’s super excited for a PlayStation 5,” said Leonard. “A new phone, he’s wanting to get some new clothes, new shoes.”

The touching moment was a light at the end of a very dark tunnel for the Montano-Graham family, watching young Ale battle germinoma brain cancer for the past two years.

“It was pretty scary, and then of course, going to chemo and radiation with the pandemic going on, and him being more vulnerable to COVID,” Leonard said. 

“He is probably the strongest kid I know in the world. Like, the only time I have ever seen him cry was when he was gonna lose his hair,” said Rachel Graham, Ale’s mother. “I was scared for him for a while, but I’m so grateful that God brought him still here with us, and he’s doing good.”

Although still dealing with the partial loss of his vision, today Ale is in remission. His younger brother, Marcos, says he’s just happy Ale’s home.

“Finally, he’s finally like good, out of the hospital. I could finally see him, talk to him every day. I just love that,” said Marcos. 

The opportunity to share these gifts together as a family is another wish come true.

“We really believe that a wish is the gift of hope to a child, and it lets them know that they’re not alone in their journey. And we like to come alongside them with people like Garcia Subaru North, and let them know that they get to just be a kid again, and know that there is life outside of treatment,” said Lister.