We had such an amazing night at the 2018 Make-A-Wish® Ohio Kentucky & Indiana BIG Wish®Gala. We were lucky enough to sit with a WISH family and met beautiful Mallory. Mallory is 6 and has half a heart. She has had 3 open heart surgeries in her short life so far. She is brave and outgoing, funny and oh my her smile… completely melted my heart. Mallory is in good health right now and living her life like any other 6-year-old would. Her WISH was a trip to Disney!
One thing I learned is that Make a Wish goes above and beyond a child’s wish. For kids who want to go to Disney, for example, they stay at a place called The Village which is just for Wish kids. At the Village, wish children receive their very own Mickey plush, Disney characters visit twice a week and thousands of Disney VoluntEARS contribute their time and talents to their families all year-long. They enjoy Halloween, Christmas (it even snows!) and several other holidays in just the week while they are there. They get ice cream all day long and the pool stays open LATE! At the parks, a special GKTW button and a Walt Disney World Wishes Pass provides the families with an alternate entrance to all of the rides, allowing families to fully enjoy the attractions offered at each park. Disney even provides a Wish Lounge located at Magic Kingdom. The Wish Lounge offers families a comfortable place to rest as well as light refreshments, DVDs, games, books and more. So as you can see, they make it a trip of a lifetime, not only for the child, but the entire family!
I heard from a Wish kids mom who talked about the trials, the sadness, the heartache that having a sick child brings. When they found out that they were being granted a WISH, they had something else to focus on. Something positive, something fun, something to HOPE for. I kept hearing that word.. HOPE. I have never had a sick child, but I can only imagine how life changing and devastating that would be. HOPE is something that burns in the hearts of the entire family and Make a Wish gives them that hope. The experience had such a lasting impact on her son that he recently asked if he could serve as CEO of the organization for a day to learn how he can help grant the wishes of more kids like him. How beautiful is that?
We heard from Dr. Anup Patel, Section Chief of Pediatric Neurology and Director of the Complex Epilepsy Clinic at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. He was inspired to conduct an academic research study of the physical and financial outcomes of a wish journey on eligible kids after observing firsthand the impact of a wish on his patients. Although it isn’t published yet, he found that kids who were granted a wish had better health than those that didn’t. It really created a positive mindset for the child and the families. They didn’t have to focus on how many more days in the hospital, but planning their WISH!
Currently, only one out of every two eligible kids experience a wish. This was just gut wrenching to hear. I couldn’t imagine my child, if one of them was sick, to not be eligible just because funding wasn’t there. The BIG Wish Gala is the largest annual fundraising event for the Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana chapter. The evening celebrates the mission of the organization, which is to bring hope, strength and joy to kids battling critical illnesses. So if this is something that speaks to you, check out the next Gala. It’s a wonderful and unforgettable night!
If this post tugs at your heart strings, get involved! Not only can you donate money, unused airplane miles or become a sponsor, but you can also volunteer as well. You can check out the many other ways you can get involved by going to the Make a Wish website.
This post is sponsored by Make A Wish. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for reading!
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