Suwanee boy invents ice cream for Make-A-Wish Foundation

SUWANEE - Alexei Bowers picked out his favorite candies -- Oreos, M&M&#39;s and fudge -- and mixed them with cake batter ice cream to make a new flavor called Alexei&#39;s Creation. <br> <br> The eight-year-old made the new ice cream to give back to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which arranged a trip to Alaska after he had a heart transplant last year. <br> <br> Make-A-Wish chose Alexei, of Suwanee, to invent his creation for ice cream chain Cold Stone Creamery. <br> <br> Proceeds from the sale of Alexei&#39;s Creation will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation and help pay for the granting of wishes for children suffering from life-threatening medical conditions. <br> <br> Alexei&#39;s wish was to see Alaska, where he was able to feed a giant octopus, ride a dog sled and pet seals, according to his mother, Anji Bowers. <br> <br> Alexei said, ``We saw porpoises and sea lions and all sorts of things.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> After suffering from childhood diseases in an orphanage in Khabarovsk, Russia, Alexei was adopted when he was 17 months old. <br> <br> He was brought to the United States and was living a healthy life until March 2002, when he was diagnosed with strep throat. <br> <br> Then one day, his mother noticed his shirt was moving as he slept on the couch. But then she realized it was his heart racing. He was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart weakens and becomes enlarged. <br> <br> On the night of April 5, 2002, the family got a call about a potential heart transplant. The surgery took three hours, but it was successful. <br> <br> More than a year later, Alexei is still recovering but doing well. He goes through occasional checks to make sure his body isn&#39;t rejecting the transplanted heart.

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