Wish Alumni Then & Now Feature - Edward

We are grateful to share this special wish experience through the eyes of one of our Wish Moms! Edward’s mom, Sarah, shares Edward’s wish journey below in such an impactful way that you don’t want to miss.

Edward was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 12. He thought he had pulled a muscle during dance class. When he finally showed me the issue, I found a lump the size of a baseball. He didn’t have any symptoms. He was a healthy kid dancing eight hours a week and going to school. You never would have looked at him and thought he had cancer. The oncologist told my son that he did have cancer, and his next statement was that he would get a wish from Make-A-Wish. We used this as motivation for his treatments. We thought everything was going fine, but then we got a call telling us his cancer was back. Ironically, the next phone call was actually Make-A-Wish saying Edward’s wish trip had been approved. Unfortunately, we had to delay the trip so we could start more chemo. His cancer was so stubborn. We had to keep trying different chemo options. Each time we tried another chemo, it was a step closer to his wish. He also needed a stem cell transplant and proton beam radiation in Florida. Though the journey was rough, we knew each treatment was another step closer to brighter days. Edward reached remission, but he needed to get stronger to be able to handle his wish trip. He went to so much physical therapy and needed braces for his legs. He did everything with a smile since he knew his wish was waiting for him. When we finally got to go ride all the roller coasters in Florida, it was amazing. To see him happy, stress free, smiling, laughing. I don’t think we will ever be as happy as we were on his wish trip. It gave him hope and motivation to do awful things. We are so thankful to Make-A-Wish for giving him what he needed to pull him through the darkness.