Make-A-Wish^® Hawaii

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When medical social worker Kathleen Hanai-Lee learned her referrals to Make-A-Wish Hawaii over the past 20 years have led to 50 transformational wishes granted, she was humbled: “I never knew anyone was counting! I’m just really fortunate that I could be part of that process.”  

Treating pediatric patients and their families with empathy is what has driven Kathy throughout her career. “They deserve my best all the time, to be treated how I would want my own family cared for,” she says. 

For Kathy, referring children to Make-A-Wish Hawaii has become central to this mission–but it wasn’t always that way. As a first-time social worker, Kathy remembers feeling hesitant to broach the subject of Make-A-Wish with parents, who often believed wishes were only for children with terminal diagnoses. “It would be a shock to some parents, so I’d battle with myself how to present the idea of a wish in a way that made sense,” she explains.  

Kathy recalls how that hesitation turned into confidence after witnessing the impact of a wish for a 5-year-old patient whose fear surrounding her medical journey had almost entirely stopped her from speaking. After her wish was granted, she was “a totally changed little girl,” says Kathy: “She was talking, interacting, sharing–her wish brought that out in her.”  

Over the years, Kathy has shared inspirational stories like these with patients at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children and at Tripler Army Medical Center. She often explains how a wish can make a world of difference in the midst of a draining and seemingly endless medical journey by motivating children to adhere to their treatment plans, providing a much-needed distraction from difficult periods, and sparking joy as they imagine their wishes come true. 

Kathy often sees how this process reinvigorates and unites the entire family as well, allowing siblings and parents to focus on something positive. “Families are exhausted, burning on all cylinders, and running out of gas–but a wish is a way to look forward and recharge,” she says. 

Kathy has also advocated for the life-changing power of a wish among fellow medical providers, with the aim of driving even more referrals for children fighting a broad range of critical illnesses. And by encouraging and educating other providers, she arms them with a vital tool in supporting their own patients.  

Now, as Kathy prepares for her retirement, she says Make-A-Wish Hawaii will forever hold a special place in her heart: “A wish touches the lives of the children and the families, but it goes beyond that. People don’t realize that even we as providers are forever changed.”