Make-A-Wish Georgia 5K proceeds help grant Cobb County teen's wish to see Porsche factory

Make-A-Wish Georgia granted the wish of a Cobb County teen with help from the proceeds of the annual Make-A-Wish 5K in Cobb County.

This Saturday, the Make-A-Wish 5K will take place in Marietta. Its proceeds go toward granting wishes for kids in Cobb County.

In July, one of those Cobb County teens' wishes were granted. Eighteen-year-old Mack Webber was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal illness just before his 11th birthday.

Webber loves cars and, after being in and out of hospital rooms, he craves the open road.

"You know, you can be trapped in a hospital room all day, and it can feel like time will never fly," Webber said. "When you're in a car, you know, even when I'm driving my Prius, and I'm driving, time flies."

If you ask him which car is his favorite, that depends.

"My personal opinion, I like sports cars, hypercars, anything that can go fast," Webber said. "If we're getting into sports cars, I like Porsche. If we're getting into hypercars, I like anywhere from Koenigsegg to Bugatti, which is an Italian car."

But there is one manufacturer that leads the pack.

"I've always liked Porsche," Webber said. "There's something about Porsche that I like. Maybe it's the fastness, maybe that it's just the car, I don't really know, but I like Porsche."

In July, Webber's wish to visit the Porsche factory in Germany with his family was granted. The group toured the factory and saw a race car from the production line.

"Going in, I thought, well, surely, we're not going to go see the factory," Webber said. "I thought we were just going to get a guided tour and touch the Porsches, but that was wrong."

The trip to Germany was more than a family vacation. Webber said that for him and other kids in his situation, Make-A-Wish helps them feel seen.

"Makes them feel like there's more to life than their illness from stopping them," Webber said.

Make-A-Wish Georgia CEO Tim Earley said the wishes have a deeper meaning.

"When wish kids and families talk to me, they don't always tell me about the destination, or the celebrity, or the surprise, or really what even happened on the wish," Earley said. "What they talk to me about is what changed. So not what happened, but what changed, because the wish has the chance to change more than just a moment for them. It changes their entire story."

Webber's mom, Kristen, said it was fun to see her two boys, Mack and Andrew, growing up and traveling the world together.

"They're wildly funny and have a lot of personality, and you sometimes miss that when you're so busy trying to triage life as a whole," Kristen Webber said.

Looking back on those moments, it makes her proud of her boys.

"I remember sitting and talking to one of my closest friends, and I said, 'One day I want him to know that I fought as hard as I could to make him strong and healthy,'" Kristen Webber said. "And this trip showed us that we did that. We've created two really strong and resilient kids who are also really good people."

Last year, Make-A-Wish Georgia granted 35 wishes in Cobb County. Thirty-three are still waiting to come true.