An Aulani Adventure - Sully's Story

Sully’s family had a mantra, “smile like Sully!”

However, after being diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2014, that was easier said than done. The toddler faced a battle for his life. He had an eleven-centimeter tumor between his stomach and his spine and cancer that reached his skull, shoulders, hips and knees. Ninety-five percent of his bone marrow was made up of cancer cells. “Sully’s diagnosis changed everything for our family,” Sully’s mother, Amy, said. “We went from being a normal, busy family – then when Sully was diagnosed, everything stopped.” 

Although he was young at the time, Sully still remembers his life taking a sudden, drastic turn into constant hospital stays, medications and time apart from his family - a long and difficult journey that would ultimately continue for six years. “When we started frontline treatment at Children’s National Hospital, one of the first things our social worker told us was that Sully qualified for a wish. At the time, I thought that wishes were only for terminal children, so I was scared,” Amy said. “Once we learned that wasn’t true, we started to talk about some things that Sully would like to do for his wish, and it gave us something to look forward to.” 

Within the confines of the same dull hospital walls, Sully started dreaming of the warm sun and sand to lift his spirits. When it came time to choose his wish, Sully only had one thing on his mind. He wanted to have fun in a tropical environment, so he wished to go to Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Kapolei, Hawaii.  

A year and a half later with a stem cell treatment and multiple rounds of chemotherapy behind him, Sully and his family jetted off from his Edgewater, MD, home to an island wish trip where he could enjoy just being a kid – and hug his favorite character, Donald Duck. His action-packed adventure included scavenger hunts, snorkeling and lots of good food, but most importantly, “spending time with family to make up for lost time that I missed while in treatment,” Sully said. “After being in a hospital bed for ages, it was really nice to get out there and collect shells on the beach, go to a luau, and play around with my brothers.”  

When wearing his ‘I’m a wish kid’ button, people rallied around Sully. “There’s magic in that – people go out of their way to make sure that this time was as special as it could possibly be. When we entered our hotel room, there was a signed picture from Mickey and Minnie Mouse, which is a big deal for a kid. We had so much fun as a family doing things we never thought we’d be able to do. To see your child attached to a chemo pole, then a couple months later see your kid going down a waterslide; it’s really great.”  

Three months after returning home, Sully’s cancer relapsed, resulting in more years of treatment. “What we thought the wish trip was – a celebration for the end of treatment – was actually a respite for the middle of it,” Amy said.  

Through it all, Sully and his family continue to have a new, optimistic outlook on life because of their wish experience, in the belief that people are kind-hearted and will always try to help when they can. Amy is now paying it forward as a wish granter volunteer for Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic in the hopes that she can extend that same joy her family received to other wish families. “I’m so grateful; organizations like Make-A-Wish are so important when things are really hard. I’ve really enjoyed watching other kids have their wish and understand that they were going to have an amazing time and have it be something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.” 

Amy’s advice to current wish kids and families going through the wish process is to wish big. “The beauty [of Make-A-Wish] is that they will try their best to make those big wishes come true. For a kid who is fighting a big battle, that’s a really big deal. For the family who has armed themselves alongside that child, it’s also a really big deal.” 

Throughout it all – all the medical ups and downs – Sully never stopped smiling. Sully is now 13, about to enter high school and loves hanging out with his friends. He’s been in remission for four years and still reflects on his wish trip often. “I just think back to all the happy memories, like playing beach football or eating shaved ice. [My wish] gave me hope to keep on going and keep fighting my cancer; without it I don’t think I’d be the same person I am today. It reinvigorated my soul.”