Steven Gutierrez has been a World Wrestling Entertainment fan for as long as he can remember. His favorite wrestler, Rey Mysterio, displays the quickness and agility that Steven sees in himself. But despite his desire to enter the ring, Steven will never be able to join Mysterio in the fraternity of WWE wrestlers.

Steven has hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Essentially, the 12-year-old only has three functioning chambers in his heart. The condition has existed since he was born. Right after his birth, Steven was flown from Coos Bay to Portland in order to have emergency open-heart surgery performed.

Steven's mother, Casey Gutierrez, made the trip by car.

“That four-hour drive was the longest of my life,” she said.

In spite of this introduction into the world, Steven does not look any different from most young boys. He just started seventh grade at Sunset Middle School in August and has little difficulty running around with his friends for short periods of time.

“He tires out really easily but for the defect he has, he's doing pretty good,” Casey said.

The effects of his condition are least apparent when he sits down with his father, Fernando, to watch his favorite sporting event.

“When wrestling is on, Steven and Fernando are on the edge of the coach the entire time, screaming at the screen,” said Steven's grandmother, Peggy Stanger of North Bend.

“It's like a football game. They turn it on, and start yelling, ‘Go! Go! Go!'” Casey added.

Although he will never be able to perform a springboard splash or a split-legged moonsault in front of a 15,000-member audience, Steven will have the opportunity to meet his idol tonight.

Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon, Steven and his entire family flew out of Southwest Oregon Regional Airport on Monday with the destination of Wichita, Kan., site of a WWE event. At the Kansas Coliseum, the entire Gutierrez clan will receive backstage passes to meet Rey Mysterio, and have Steven take pictures with the eight-time WCW/WWE Cruiserweight champion.

“I like him because he is the smallest, but he was also the champion,” Steven said about his 5-foot, 6-inch hero. “He's the fastest, too.”

Steven's parents realized that Steven was eligible for the Make-A-Wish Foundation's grant program shortly after he was born, but waited until this year so that he would be able to keep a memory of the experience.

They applied for the grant about eight months ago, at which point doctors made sure that Steven would be strong enough to make the trip. Then, in April, the Gutierrezes learned that Steven's wish had been granted.

“The timing is great because it's [Fernando and my] 10th anniversary today,” Casey said at a send-off celebration on Friday. “All of us are ecstatic.”

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience. Born in 1980 when a group helped 7-year-old Chris Greicius fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer, the Foundation grants more than 12,500 wishes a year and has granted more than 141,000 in the United States since its inception.

The local chapter serves children ages 2 1/2 through 17, living in Oregon and Clark County, Wash. For more information about the organization, those interested can visit www.orwish.org.

Here's how you can ‘Make-A-Wish'

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience. Born in 1980 when a group helped 7-year-old Chris Greicius fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer, the Foundation grants more than 12,500 wishes a year and has granted more than 141,000 in the United States since its inception.

The local chapter serves children ages 21/2 through 17, living in Oregon and Clark County, Wash. For more information about the organization, those interested can visit www.orwish.org.