PAROWAN, Utah — It was quite the celebration Monday at the New York Stock Exchange. Raucous applause and cheers rang out as the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted the wish of Utah's own Cade Hulet from Parowan.
The national nonprofit says they were surprised at what he wanted — not a trip to Disney or to meet a sports legend, but visiting Wall Street.
"When Cade first made his wish to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, he shared that he had a strong interest in financial podcasts and investing," the NYSE announcer said.
"It was something not a lot of people get to do that was fun and really cool," Cade said.
"It was amazing and emotional," his mom Sandy said.
Both Cade and his mom say it was much more than they could have ever expected, and they'd been looking forward to this moment for a long time — helping them get through some tough days over these last few years.
"When he would have a hard time, we would talk about his wish, and he was excited. It gave him a lot of hope and something to look forward to," his mom said.
Cade was just 13 when he was diagnosed with cancer.
"In May of 2023, he first showed symptoms," his mom said.
He had headaches that wouldn't go away, and then an emergency room visit and blood work showed that Cade had leukemia.
"We were at the local hospital in Cedar City, and then they transferred us up to Primary Children's Hospital, and we've been going up there I think close to 70 times," his mom said.
It's more than three hours of driving each way, but Cade said no matter what challenges they faced in this journey, they never let it get them down.
"I think if you just have a positive mindset, you can really do anything," Cade said.
He hopes that attitude will help others going through something similar. In fact, Cade wore a gold tie and a gold ribbon in honor of childhood cancer awareness month in September — bringing that message front and center at an important moment watched around the world.
He's still taking oral chemotherapy treatments daily, but strong enough to visit Wall Street and inspire us all.
"I met like a trader, meeting the president of the exchange. It was really cool," Cade said.
His mom says the bell that he's really excited about ringing is the one at Primary Children's when he marks the end of his treatment. That's set for Oct. 23.
