When Chantell Hardin cooks, her son, Prince Wise, 9, often stands beside her in the kitchen learning how to prepare food and sampling spices. “He always asks questions,” Hardin, 30, of Pittsburgh, tells TODAY.com.
“In my seasoning closet, I have over 50 (spices), and he wants to know what (each) tastes like.” Prince’s love of food led to a sophisticated palate, and he often asks his mom to make a seafood boil or to take him to the sushi bar. But when Prince developed a serious heart condition in 2021, his stint in the hospital brought this routine to a halt.
Prince required a heart transplant, which he eventually received. Soon after, he connected with Make-A-Wish of Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia and was gifted a trip. A year later, when the organization was looking for someone to help create a new menu item for the Fairmont Pittsburgh’s restaurant, Floor 2, as part of a fundraiser, the team reached out to Prince.
“We got really emotional because it was such a blessing (to be asked),” Hardin says. “It was so breathtaking to know that he actually did this.” In 2021, Prince, then 7, suddenly fell ill.
“Prince passed out on the floor,” Hardin says. “His eyes started to roll to the back of the head.” Worried that he had a COVID-19 infection, his father rushed him to an urgent care clinic where doctors recommended Prince go to the children’s hospital.
When Hardin arrived at the hospital, she was stunned to see dozens of staff in Prince’s ro.