Enjoy this first-person account from wish kid Selah about her life-changing wish!

"On an early Tuesday morning, my mom, dad, and I set out to the airport. We drove our metallic-blue SUV for an hour, all the while joking and talking. Now and then, we would each gaze out the window and contemplate how we got here. 

I was born with a one-in-a-million genetic disorder that caused my first year to be spent in the hospital, and every year after has been riddled with medical issues that are fixed either through invasive surgeries or intense bouts of medical practitioners analyzing me and my symptoms to provide successful treatment.

My life has never been easy, but once my family and I found out about Make-A-Wish, we knew that it would provide an element of meaning to my trauma. 

After nearly 14 years of a life spent experiencing things many will never experience, and over two years of waiting to experience something that no one else has experienced, we were on our way to Seattle, Washington to have my wish granted. We flew from Denver to Seattle, courtesy of Southwest, and were picked up by a private driver to start our adventure. We ate exquisite seafood, overlooked the city from 600 feet above the ground on the Space Needle, witnessed the glass artwork of the creative genius Chihuly, learned about and viewed dozens of animal species at the Woodland Park Zoo, and visited other, smaller tourist attractions, such as the Gum Wall and Fisherman’s Wharf. While all these activities could constitute an entire trip of their own, we were not here specifically for them. 

The day after arriving on the West coast, I woke up a full hour earlier than needed, my body coursing with adrenaline. It was finally time, what felt like my entire medical life so far was building up to reach an epic climax. I idly distracted myself until it was time to go, barely able to control my nerves. After restlessly eating breakfast, my family and I rushed out of the restaurant and into the lobby, where we were going to meet another Make-A-Wish kid that would be joining us, along with his family and the coordinator of our trip. Being shy around strangers, I was shocked when I hit it off instantly with my new friend Jackson, who knew everything and more relating to the subject of our wish: Pokemon.  

Our small group made its way down the noisy city block, Jackson in his wheelchair, me walking by him so we could talk about all our favorite things, such as Dungeons & Dragons, Jurassic World, Marvel, The Good Place, and, of course, Pokemon. After around 15 minutes of excited chatter, we reached a massive office building that didn’t look any more different or exciting than what you would expect of a financial or real estate establishment. Slightly confused about what we were walking into, we found our way to the elevators and pressed the button that would bring us to our wish. 

While we didn’t completely know what was going to happen, we knew what we wished for: to visit one of the four Pokemon International Headquarters in the world. I had thought of two other wishes before this one, but each one was unable to happen due to COVID-19 regulations. Secretly, I was extremely nervous that whatever would happen inside the corporate building was going to be nothing compared to what my other wishes would have been like if they had come true. Ultimately, I was dead wrong. 

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped out into a reception area. Each elevator door leading to other floors had different Pokemon engraved on them, and there were four life-sized statues of the original starter Pokemon: Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, and Pikachu. Two employees in Pokemon visors approached us, and we each got to choose a Pokemon visors based on an unreleased video game.

We then were led into a different elevator than the one we came up in, and after a short ride down we walked into a long hallway where I was distracted by detailed Pokemon artwork on the wall before hearing Jackson gasp and say: “Selah, look!” 

There, standing at the opposite end of the hallway, was Pikachu and Eevee. They were human-sized, the ones you see dancing at the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade. Surrounding them were at least a dozen employees, all holding pom-poms, and as soon as they saw us realize what was going on, they started cheering, and I ran forward to hug two of my favorite Pokemon. Everyone involved in this perfect moment was bawling, and I kept going back and forth between Pikachu and Eevee to exchange even more hugs and take pictures. After 10 minutes of pure euphoria, we said goodbye and I was hugged goodbye from both sides by my new, furry friends. 

The employees we met in the reception area had us follow them into a room with fogged-over windows. As soon as we walked in, we all gasped, because in the room was a birthday party, curated specifically for Jackson and me. 

Out of pure luck, Jackson and I were born during the same week, one year apart. We both chose to go to the Pokemon Center on the week of our birthdays, but we didn’t know that the team at Pokemon knew this. 

There were balloons spelling out our names and dozens of items of merchandise hand-picked for us: plushies, building sets, trading card packs, gaming gear, figurines and more! After our families settled around in, they dimmed the lights and the heads of each department in the company came in. 

We learned about the process of making the Pokemon figurines we had been gifted. The heads of trading card production came in, and we watched a video that no civilian had ever seen before about how they make Pokemon cards! We learned how each Pokemon is named, how every single line of text that comes from the headquarters in Japan is carefully translated, and how packaging and textures are designed. Each group would give us products relating to their presentation, adding more meaning to what we were learning and being given. 

By the time the presentations were done, it was lunchtime, and we went into a lobby to eat. Being gluten and dairy-free, I was shocked to find that half of the food available to our families was safe for me to eat, as I am used to having fewer options than most of what to eat at events. There was a chocolate cake, macaroni and cheese, chicken sandwiches, cupcakes, brownie bites, salad, fruit, chips, and more, all that I was able to enjoy! 

As our time at the Pokemon Company International Headquarters reached an end, we were surprised by meeting the last two people before we left: Kenji and Amelia. 

Kenji was no other than Kenji Okubo, the president of the entire Pokemon Company. He said that he just couldn’t miss out on our party, and I ecstatically took a selfie with him, starstruck that I was meeting the person at the very top of one of my favorite brands.

After I chatted with him for a few minutes, Amelia approached my family, and she told us something I will never forget: she, at my age, was a Make-A-Wish kid, and she had also chosen to visit the Pokemon Company. Now, years later, she works at her dream job with others who are just as passionate about Pokemon as she is! She said that if I wanted to, she could see me working with them when I grow older, and this made my world.

She went through a similar experience as me, and here was proof that everything can turn out well in the end, no matter how difficult the journey was to get there. I will be okay, and my future ahead of me is looking bright, knowing that if I want to, I can become a person who I respect so much now."

Selah’s entire wish journey demonstrates how wishes can provide trauma relief for the wish child and their family. 

Children who are fighting critical illnesses experience extreme mental and emotional challenges every day. Hospital stays, harsh treatments and scary surgeries are not only exhausting –they are traumatic. Such mental distress can impair a child’s long-term healing, as feelings of hopelessness, depression and loneliness threaten their ability to endure the physical demands of their illness.  

Make-A-Wish offers children with critical illnesses much-needed relief from their trauma, through a rejuvenating experience that can give them a better chance of surviving and thriving. A wish provides a chance for children and their families to take back control of their lives. Conversation shifts from fear to anticipation and joy. That’s the moment a wish is born, and the impact continues through well after the wish has been granted. 

Selah’s wish launched her onto a journey filled with exciting possibilities –and a chance to replace feelings of trauma with hope for tomorrow.