“Emelia is a freight train. She powers through everything academically, socially, physically; she keeps going and that’s who she is!” states Emelia’s mom, Jamie. When 16-year-old Emelia was diagnosed with cancer she proved to be just that. Emelia was given a beanie, and sadly lost her hair within 2 weeks of treatment. It was very sudden and drastic for Emelia to lose all her hair in such a short amount of time. Fortunately, Emelia and her family were able to afford a wig for her to wear when she was going through treatment. “When I put on my wig it made me feel like I wasn’t sick, and I looked like how I did before I got diagnosed,” she said. Wearing a wig gave Emelia the confidence to go out in public and feel as though she had a sense of normalcy in a time of uncertainty.

When Emelia was granted the opportunity to have a wish granted, she decided to choose a wish bigger than herself, helping others in the process. Emelia’s wish was to create a non-profit wig charity. She wanted all kids to have access to wigs, whether they looked like their own hair or fun colors and styles. She wanted to help kids choose just the right wig that would give them the confidence that she got from hers.

On Emelia’s wish day, she walked into the Wishing Place which had been set up with a display of wigs just as she imagined – wigs of varying length, color, shape and style hanging on IV poles with mirrors scattered about to help ensure the perfect look. To help launch her charity, Confidence Beyond Cancer, Emelia helped several kids who were newly diagnosed with cancer choose new wigs, and in the process created some long-lasting friendships.

The mission of Confidence Beyond Cancer is to give wigs and hats to children getting cancer treatment and going through chemotherapy. Emelia and her mom went to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center to deliver a wide variety of wigs, and they anticipate returning for scheduled “pop-up” visits in the future. Emelia hopes her wish of creating a wig charity will help give kids battling cancer a feeling of power and confidence, and will let kids see themselves in a way that makes them happy.

A special thanks to Make-A-Wish Connecticut board member, Steven Wolowitz, and Mayer Brown LLP for helping to make Emelia’s wish come true.