Leah (Lali)’s Wish

17 year old Leah, also known as Lali, wished to be a combat soldier in the Israeli army.

At the age of 18 in Israel, most of the young adults join the Israeli army, which is mandatory service. Because of her medical condition, however, Leah (Lali) could not do so.

She was so thrilled when the volunteers of Make-A-Wish said they could make this happen for her, and that even what seems to be impossible is possible when one becomes part the Make-A-Wish family. Leah knew that if she could be initiated into an Israeli combat unit, it would give her the strength to keep fighting her illness!

Leah (Lali)’s wish was granted with the help of many incredible and kind people who have dedicated time, thought and efforts to grant this unique wish. On the day of her wish, Leah (Lali) arrived in a wheelchair, together with her mother, to a national park where her training began. A unit from the army was waiting for her with a uniform just for her. A special track was assembled with different activities that a soldier experiences in their training course.

Together with her friends from “The School for the Blind” in Jerusalem, where she studies because of her very limited sight, they arrived and could not wait to cheer her on with joy and great spirit.

It was an unforgettable day for Leah (Lali) and everyone who was involved. At the end of the training, she was awarded a certificate from the commander of the unit for her hard work, dedication and bravery and mostly, for being such an inspiration to everyone!

The next day, Leah (Lali) arrived to the hospital, as she does three times a week, with her certificate and barrette and mostly a huge smile and renewed strength to fight the battle for her life.

View the Video Here.

Bautista Dall´orso Maro

Bautista is a 10-year-old child. He was diagnosed with medulloblastoma. His wish was to meet Lionel Messi. Bautista's wish was granted in June 2014. Ever since then, his medical condition has improved, day by day. We are delighted to show you Bautista's testimony in a video.

View the Video Here.

Nicolás Letelier

Nicolas fulfilled his dream of being a wizard from the world of Harry Potter. It was a dream that united all the volunteers, and the spirit of Nicolas marked each one of us. At the end of the year event, he said, "You volunteers are like thousands of sand granites that come together to make a beach without limits."

View the Video Here.

Quim's Wish

Quim is only 4 years old. He has shown us that there are many ways to communicate, beyond words, and that the strength of his wish was so powerful that it could become the best of languages. Esther, Quim’s mother, introduced us their story:

"After Quim’s arrival, we embarked on a path full of turbulence where we began to discover a world very different from the one we had dreamt of. Likewise, we were forgetting our path, our dreams... what were once projects, today is subsistence and struggle. Even so, we decided to hands tightly and fought for unconditional love for the bravest child we have ever known.

This winter some beautiful souls with folders of Make-A-Wish, came to visit us at the hospital and I had to swallow millions of tears for not being able to believe that something like this could happen to us... Many people connected to see Quim’s smile."

As Esther told us, Quim is a child who smiles, always, but when it comes to seeing anything about sea animals, he laughs out loud. Together, we discovered that his great wish was to meet them. Quim’s wish was special because to be able to communicate with him, we created a special language, with images, sounds and smiles. Once Quim’s wish came true, his family told us that they had lost many fears; that they had been able to see beyond their routine, and that Quim, who is very close to his mother, has been able to live an unforgettable memory with his little brother, in an amazing experience that connected the family much more than ever. "Make-A-Wish Spain not only granted my son's wish, it has been a before and after in our lives."

View the Video Here.

Pei Yun's Wish to Have a Piano

At age 11, Pei Yun was diagnosed with left distal femur osteosarcoma, and had her leg amputated. During her wish capture, Pei Yun showed a love for music, especially singing. She even has her own microphone to karaoke from the comforts of home! After much thought, Pei Yun requested for a piano. But she’s never had any music lesson, let alone played the piano. After many months of communication, the piano remained Pei Yun’s heartfelt wish.

Our volunteers then set out to craft a wish journey for her which included piano lessons. Ideas were put into action, and Pei Yun started her piano lesson in mid 2018, while the volunteers worked with her sister to prepare a concert for Pei Yun.

Months later, on her wish day, Pei Yun’s friends gathered at the party venue to watch her inaugural piano performance and duet with her sister. While all her friends and family were surprised to see Pei Yun’s confidence on the keyboard, Make-A-Wish volunteers were so proud to see the girl transform into a confident young lady, who even made a speech to thank her family for being by her side throughout her medical battle.

Her wish day was streamed live via Make-A-Wish Malaysia's Facebook channel, and many people tuned in to watch Pei Yun at the piano. Praises and encouraging comments were flooding in for Pei Yun from the viewers. Pei Yun’s performance was definitely in tune with the community that day!

View the Video Here.

Wish Kid Jung-hyun Kim

17-year-old Jung-hyun read a book titled, "Jeseok Yi, the ad genius " during her treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia. Since then, Jung-hyun became interested in Jeseok Yi (advertising director, Founder of Jesski social campaign) and his public ads.

After hearing about Jung-hyun's wish by Make-A-Wish Korea, Jeseok Yi kindly accepted to meet her and even suggested working together to create a public ad on her wish day.

In January 2018, Jung-hyun's wish to meet Jeseok Yi was finally granted. During the brainstorming, Jung-hyun shared with Mr. Lee and volunteers attending the meeting her perspectives on general stereotypes toward children cancer patients, and some experiences she had had while struggling with her disease. She wanted to create a public ad to enhance the public's care and heart-warming interest in patients battling with cancer. After a long discussion, both Jung-hyun and Mr. Lee came up with the image of a bold egg wearing a mask. An egg represents a child who lost hair during the chemotherapy. They made such a great team, which resulted in a nice image with a catchy phrase saying, "Embrace us, we [are] reborn." This ad ad was published in a newspaper in February, after her wish had been granted.

Jung-hyun says, "My wish to create a public ad with Mr. Yi brought me such a powerful experience. I will keep on working hard to become an impactful ad professional for weak people."

This wish granting was a great start for Jung-hyun to step forward her dream to become an ad professional.

Xiao-Yu's Wish

Xiao-Yu is a 9 year old boy with brain cancer. He always watched the magic channel on the internet during his treatment in the hospital. When he learned and performed magic tricks one after another, his pain was soothed by encouragement and appreciation. As a result, his wish was to be a magician to perform wonderful magic for his teachers and classmates.

While preparing to be a magician, the internet magician specially taught Xiao-Yu both in the hospital and at home, and Xiao-Yu practiced very hard for the wish performance. On his wish day, there were 200 people in the hall. Xiao-Yu performed the magic calmly and with confidence. He finished his first wonderful magic performance among the warm cheers of the hall. He received the certification of magician from the magic teacher, and will be the first magician both in the school and Make-A-Wish Taiwan.

After his wish was granted, Xiao-Yu became more confident and worked harder to learn magic. He participated in different activities hosted by the hospital and Make-A-Wish Taiwan. This not only brought him hope and courage during the treatment process, but also brought the joy and excitement to the people who love and care about him. It really showed the life-changing power of a wish due to the “magic” of a wish!

Osama Ismail Abdalhay's Wish

17 year old Osama wished to visit Dubai. Osama has leukemia and is treated at the King Hussein Cancer in Jordan. He spent many hours in isolation at the centre during his treatment. He could not go out or travel, and he dreamed of visiting Dubai to visit the tallest building in the world, and other iconic landmarks. Osama was extremely joyful to be able to travel to Dubai and go to the top of the Burj Khalifa, visit IMG, Atlantis The Palm, Dubai Aquarium and the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. The management and staff of these attractions support us in our belief that a single wish can transform lives, and they experienced the happiness and joy with Osama. Our Wish Kid saw what an effort was made by everyone in the community to grant his wish, and this inspired him to do more. Not to just enjoy his dreamed-of wish, but to go beyond this and make a difference to his community back home.

Osama has been inspired to bring joy and happiness to others at the Cancer Centre in Jordan, for he truly knows the feelings of isolation and loneliness that others are feeling. At the beginning of his visit, he told us that once his treatment was complete, he would never go back to the hospital, as he experienced the worst days of his life there. Now, however, he believes that wishes do truly make a difference in the lives of those living with a critical illness. Whilst in the UAE, Osama visited our Head Office and attended some of the volunteer training that was being held that day. His desire is to work in charity and make a difference in the lives of others.

View the Video Here.

View the Second Video Here.

Wish Child, Chi

Chi is a 5-year-old girl who wished to have a dinosaur-themed bed. Chi's wish was realized with the collaborative effort of the Wish Team and an online media WHIZOO. Instead of fulfilling her wish, we partnered with an online media, transforming her wish day into a dinosaur journey and enhancing the wish with the support of the movie company, the media company and volunteers.

View the Video Here.

Mason's Wish

Mason was born on Oct. 10, 2010 (10/10/10), which happened to be his favourite number. He was a happy kid and loved to smile. Like many boys his age, Mason enjoyed spending time outside, playing with his dog, camping, swimming, fishing and going for car rides. In 2016, Mason was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and his entire world quickly changed.

Due to his critical illness, Mason was eligible to have a wish granted by Make-A-Wish®. In November 2017, the seven-year-old from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan wished to give a humanoid robot called MEDi® to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon and name it “Nurse Mason.” Mason wanted to be a nurse when he grew up and felt the robot would bring children comfort during their medical procedures.

Sadly, Mason passed away before he could give the robot to the hospital.

As a lasting tribute to the young boy and his courageous battle with cancer, Mason’s family donated Nurse Mason to Royal University Hospital’s pediatric unit on Sept. 5, 2018. The donated robot will live in the pediatric unit at Saskatchewan Health Authority’s Royal University Hospital and will be used to help young patients cope better.

“Mason was an incredibly thoughtful child, always wanting to help others,” says Tammy Lucas, acute care manager of pediatrics for the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s Royal University Hospital. “He would think that this MEDi robot is the coolest thing and would be very excited at how it helps kids cope with their medical challenges in a kid-friendly way. It’s an amazing gift from an amazing kid!”

The coverage of Mason’s heartwarming story generated over 6 million media impressions in Canada.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUQsyfm5CFs

News Footage: https://globalnews.ca/news/4429865/robot-saskatoon-hospital-legacy-young-boy/

Andreas, Former Wish Kid

Wish Impact, the long-term story! 13 years later…

Calling Andrea’s mum was not an easy decision. We hadn’t heard from the family for 13 years. A gentle, excited voice, answered the phone, before we even had the chance to utter one word, saying: “Hello! Andreas is healthy!” Our first thought was that she had confused us with someone else, but his mum explained that she still has our phone number on her contact list and still thinks of us, very often.

We invited Andreas to join us at our “Thank You Night” as a special guest. To share his story and sing the same song he had sang, when his wish with his favorite singer was granted. Andreas was still struggling with his past, memories and fears, until the very last minute... To our surprise, on the day of the event, we saw him entering the venue with great confidence. He was wearing a baseball hat, as he always does, since he never got his hair back after the chemotherapies.

When the time came for him to get on the stage… the miracle happened! With his voice betraying his emotions, he took off his baseball hat for the first time in many years, crying and singing at the same time. While all the people in the room gave him a standing ovation, it was as if he finally accepted himself and all that he had gone through; a complete catharsis of emotions. That’s what we call the power of a wish.

The next day his mum called and shared with us the reaction of her son: “It’s as if you have granted a second wish for him… He felt appreciated and loved… and accepted as he is… without hair… thank you! You are real fairies!”

View the Video Here.