Kalina reached new heights during her wish to Space Camp

Wishes are powerful in many ways. They create strength, hope and transformation in a child and a community.  This holds true for Wish Hero Kalina, who’s wish experience in 2001 was so powerful that it prompted her to give back to wish kids like her years later.  We recently had the opportunity to speak with Kalina about how her wish not only impacted her, but also her family and community. 

Kalina recalls her childhood, growing up in the suburbs as an active, talented gymnast and dancer who loved spending time with her family. Around age 5 her mother and gymnastics coach noticed a significant change in the way she was walking which prompted the start of Kalina’s medical journey. Doctor’s discovered Kalina had a very rare disease which affects only three out of 1 million children. She was formally diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder (juvenile dermatomyositis) along with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.  Kalina’s illness impacted the activities she once loved to do, gymnastics especially, and she was forced to sit on the sidelines during P.E. and other games at school - something she once thrived at. Kalina experienced more challenges during her formative years than most kids her age but she says she learned how to stick up for herself at a young age and confront the limitations brought on by her illness.  

Kalina also says her parents encouraged her to explore and try new things which led to her interest in science. She expressed that growing up she really wanted to be an astronaut, because to her, the best thing in the world was being weightless. When it came time to choosing a wish, going to the Parent-Child Space Camp in Florida was at the top of her list.   

When the wish granters showed up at Kalina’s home, they informed her that her wish was coming true. Kalina recalls that day being very significant because the wish granters “really acknowledged” her requests. Kalina was adamant about choosing a wish that her whole family could experience together since everyone had been part of her diagnosis. She and her family had endured so much together that it was written in the stars for all of them to be a part of her wish. “I really wanted it to be something that created memories, as a family, that didn’t involve my illness in a negative way.” The experience was all that and more for Kalina; she was even granted an official space training suit with her name on it and felt weightless on the zero-gravity wall! 

Kalina’s wish had a lasting impact on her and she confidently stated that, “It showed what a simple act of kindness can do and influenced my future charitable giving as a whole and how I interact with people.” She mentions the wish granters were paramount in making her wish experience so special not only for her, but her family too. Kalina says this was the driving force behind her desire to create a Wish Hero fundraiser and give back to the same organization that had made her wish come true years before. The Wish Hero fundraising platform is a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign that generates both awareness and funds for Make-A-Wish. Supporters can donate to their own fundraiser, to a specific Wish Hero page, or create a team effort to help grant wishes and bring hope to wish kids and their families during critical times.  

Most of Kalina’s childhood was plagued with doctor’s appointments and treatments so her main mission in giving back to Make-A-Wish was to give other kids a break from their illness and allow them the freedom to be a kid again. Kalina’s “Wish Hero” fundraiser experience was just as special for her as her wish experience had been back in 2001. Throughout her campaign, she received an overwhelming response from her community and even was able to re-connect with old friends and people she hadn’t gotten to see due to the pandemic. She found solace in finally being able to explain the reality of her disease, growing up and why she wanted to give back to the organization she is passionate about.  

Kalina started her fundraising campaign in hopes of having 20 donors in honor of the 20th anniversary of her wish, and with the help of some amazing supporters she reached $8,120 to help grant wishes to other kids facing overwhelming odds.  

“I greatly encourage everyone to support Make-A-Wish and I now tell everyone I can that I was a wish kid because I think being an adult wish kid is just as impactful as being the wish kids that need it because they can really see the change.” 

Kalina chalks up a great deal of the success of her “Wish Hero” campaign to the support she received from her community. “It’s my whole entire community supporting me and supporting kids like me. They saw my story, saw what it did for me and then said, ‘Yes I want to do that for other kids,’ and I think that's what was most magical. It's reinforcing and reaffirming to me as someone diagnosed with a critical illness, that people do see you, do show up, and do care for you and want to help you.”