Make-A-Wish Hawaii Winter 2018 Newsletter

I wish to go to London Robin, 16, Ewa Beach leukemia

I wish to go to Walt Disney WorldÂŽ for Christmas Ally, 12, Pearl City cancer

Winter 2018 Photo: Tracy Wright Corvo

WishfulThinking • ‘Tis the Season

‘Tis the Season The holidays are just around the corner, and we couldn’t be more excited about the wishes and festivities ahead.

Many of our keiki wish to go somewhere with their families for the holidays, like Pearl City wish kid Ally, who wishes to go to Walt Disney World® for Christmas. Thanks to your support, a number of local wish kids like Ally will experience the gift of a wish this holiday season.

In the midst of planning magical holiday wishes, we’re also gearing up for our 4th annual Waffles for Wishes, a champagne-chic brunch presented by our Young Leaders Board, and our 6th annual holiday walk, Jingle Rock Run! One of our largest fundraisers, Jingle Rock Run draws more than 6,500 walkers and runners of all ages to enjoy the Honolulu City Lights and support local wish families. There’s still plenty of time to register or start a team if you haven’t already—we’d love to see you there!

As we move into this magical season of wishes, we’d like to thank you for all you do to support our wish families year-round.

Best wishes and happy holidays, Janel Chandler, Interim CEO & Director of Marketing and Events

I wish to have a beach-access wheelchair Jake, 17, Kailua endocrine disorder

I wish to meet Mickey & Minnie Mouse Kahalau, 4, Wailuku neuroblastoma

Gifts That Transform A special mahalo to Reyn Spooner for bringing Jake’s wish to have a beach-access wheelchair to life.

“Jake’s gift has opened doors for so many possibilities in his life, we can’t fully imagine them.”

Doug, Jake’s dad

You may remember Maui wish kid Kahalau and her mom Rachael from our last edition.

Thanks to your support, Kahalau’s wish will be coming true this holiday season.

Until then, she’s finishing up treatment and enjoying her favorite time of year: Halloween!

“The wish has been a constant focus to work at, carrying us through really tough days and medicines. To give an experience to these kids like Kahalau is to truly understand the essence of life.”

Rachael, Kahalau’s mom

Wishes in Progress Through the Glass: Wish kids Robin and Ally form an unbreakable bond at the hospital When 12-year-old Ally and 16-year-old Robin first met, it wasn’t at school or through friends; it was at the hospital, through a thick, glass door. Robin was in isolation, having recently undergone a bone marrow transplant after a relapse with leukemia. During Robin’s first round of treatment, classmates, friends, and family had come to visit. This time, there were fewer and fewer visitors. And once she was placed in isolation, there were none.

“The worst part about the relapse was the bone marrow transplant (BMT) room. It was like I was trapped in the room, and slowly the walls were closing in, and I was by myself with no one who really understands what I’m going through,” Robin describes.

But soon, she saw a friendly face through the glass, and an instant connection formed. The two began texting, bonding over everything from a shared love of Harry Potter to how to wrap pills to avoid the bad taste and how to cope with the hair loss that comes with chemotherapy. Their friendship came at the perfect time, with Robin needing support through her relapse with cancer, and Ally needing someone who understood the incredibly difficult journey that she herself was now also going through.

“Robin was one of the first friends I made at the hospital,” said Ally. “Our friendship has helped me get through tough times—Robin will come and visit me or make me laugh when I don’t feel the best. She has helped me get through my treatments with a smile.”

The girls have also bonded over imagining life beyond the walls of the hospital; both are wish kids waiting for their wishes to be granted. Ally’s one true wish is to go to Walt Disney World for Christmas this year. Robin’s is to go to London, to “at last see the place that holds [her] fantasy friends” like Harry Potter and Peter Pan.

Photo: Tracy Wright Corvo

Both Robin and Ally view their wishes as a sign that they can do anything. “A wish come true would also mean that I made it—that I actually beat leukemia, and am very lucky that I did,” said Robin.

Help more wishes like Robin’s and Ally’s come true this holiday season.

Give the gift of a wish today at hawaii.wish.org.

Make-A-Wish® Hawaii 223 South King Street, Suite 100 Honolulu, HI 96813 www.hawaii.wish.org RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

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