MUNCIE, Ind. — A doctor in Muncie is working to grant wishes for people dealing with severe illness through an initiative called “Physicians for Wishes.”

The idea started back when Dr. Gregory Taylor’s mother was diagnosed with cancer when he was still in school. Taylor said he remembers a family trip they took two months before his mom died and said it was one of his mom’s final wishes.

Dr. Taylor said something he specifically remembers the smile on her face during that trip. That memory, he said, inspired him to start Physicians for Wishes with a goal to bring smiles to other people’s faces as they deal with terminal and critical illnesses.

Just this month, Physicians for Wishes was finally able to grant their first wish to a 20-year-old named Devin. Dr. Taylor said Devin is a brain cancer fighter who was diagnosed when he was just 13 years old.

For his wish, Devin spent time at Lake Michigan with everyone he loves.

“Those patients that have a terminal or critical illness, being able to grant a wish, answer a wish, allow them to do something that they haven’t done or the smile they haven’t had in a long time, that’s the goal with this,” Taylor said.

Physicians for Wishes is funded through donations. For more information on how to get involved, click here.