I wish to be a mermaid
Emma
9
leukemia
Emma's Adventure Under the Sea
Emma is an active 9-year-old girl from Pinehurst, NC who enjoys swimming and playing outside. Emma also has leukemia. Whenever Emma goes swimming, she dives down deep into the water and imagines a magical world where she can swim with her very own pink and purple mermaid tail
Emma is an active 9-year-old girl from Pinehurst, NC who enjoys swimming and playing outside. Emma also has leukemia. Whenever Emma goes swimming, she dives down deep into the water and imagines a magical world where she can swim with her very own pink and purple mermaid tail. This world offers Emma an escape from her day-to-day life, full of endless doctor’s appointments and treatments.
When asked what she wanted her wish to be, Emma excitedly declared that she wished to be a mermaid! She imagined a day filled with adventure and looked forward to being able to swim in her mermaid tail. She even practiced swimming with her legs together so she would be ready to swim in her tail when her wish day arrived.
In the effort to create Emma’s perfect wish, Make-A-Wish reached out to a long-time donor, Robin Smith-Salzman, for help. “I got a call that said, ‘Can we do a mermaid party for a wish kid at your house? We think you have a pool.’ And I said I’d be thrilled to help in any way that I could.”
Robin Smith-Salzman is no stranger to granting wishes. An avid supporter since 2013, Robin loves to give back and to make wishes extra special. Robin first encountered Make-A-Wish as a sponsor and then became a “Fairy Godmother” as a part of the W.I.S.H. Society, a women’s group dedicated to granting wishes.
Renee Stengal Photography
On the day of Emma’s wish, Robin went above and beyond to create a magical environment complete with extravagant balloons and a beautifully decorated pool for Emma to swim in. Best of all, a special guest had arrived from under the sea to celebrate Emma’s wish day. As a special surprise, Emma was going to be able to swim with a real life mermaid, Mermaid Shannon! When Emma arrived, she couldn’t wait to put on her brand new tail and start swimming. Emma spent the day splashing away in the pool with Mermaid Shannon and taking special underwater photos.
Emma’s wish was a bright spot for her entire family. “Obviously no one wants to have this occur to their child, but just to have a few moments where she could stop thinking about going through treatment and be allowed to just do her own thing. She will remember this for the rest of her life,” Emma’s dad said with a smile.
It was because of a special community of donors and supporters that Emma got to feel like the beautiful mermaid that she always knew she was. This is an experience Emma and her whole family will cherish for the rest of their lives.