Starting to Dream Again
By Wish Alum Eleonora
Eight years ago, I was hospitalized in Italy for internal bleeding. After months of blood infusions and tests, they found out I was suffering from a severe autoimmune disease. My habits, body, and physical strength changed drastically, leaving me mentally and physically broken, with lots of cortisone to take every day, countless medicines, and a cannula always ready on my arm.
Before, I was the captain of the volleyball and soccer teams. After, I could no longer walk the 300 meters that separated my home from the high school. My hair was falling out, and people bullied me about it. I fell into a long spiral of depression and negativity, from which I saw no way out.
Then, I heard about Make-A-Wish.
I emailed them my story with all my data, numbers, and contacts. My mother told me to give up, to not even try to contact them. According to her, the foundation worked only with cancer patients. She was wrong.
I wished to meet my favorite band. In the hospital, at home, and whenever I felt alone, their songs were there for me, wiping away my tears of fear and pain. When Make-A-Wish told me my wish was approved, I found some energy that the illness had taken away from me. I wanted to be beautiful, energetic, and happy.
Suddenly, my disease no longer scared me.
On June 6, 2015, I went to Vienna, where I met the band at their concert. I closed my eyes, and I remember I whispered, "I am here, and I am alive. The best day of my life."
After that day, I began to dream. Then even more... because if there is anything Make-A-Wish has taught me, it is that if I was able to meet my favorite band, then I could realize anything I wanted.
I started volunteering for Make-A-Wish Italy to give back some of the magic I borrowed in the past. Then, I made another wish and set a goal; Columbia University and its Master's in Journalism.
Looking back, I am shocked at the number of things I have done in these eight years. The places I have seen, and the people I have met. My disease has never stopped in the meantime - it has even gotten much worse, but I still run faster than it.
I got a bachelor's in international affairs and philosophy
I worked as a journalist in the United Nations headquarters
I helped the Italian Parliament build a database on violence against women
I moved to New York on my own, and have been living here for two years
And in May 2022, I graduated from Columbia Journalism School with a final project on Make-A-Wish and the importance of realizing a wish for a seriously ill child’s and their family's mental and physical health.
Many people do not understand what it means for a sick child to see their dream realized, and they underestimate the importance of donating to Make-A-Wish. They don't understand it, because they are adults. If you ask them about their heart's desire, they wouldn't know the answer - they have too many wishes. But ask a child: they can tell you right away what it is.
Fulfilling the desire of a seriously ill child means allowing them to have their life back during a painful and suffocating time. It means giving a smile back to a brother, a sister, a mother, or a father.
For me, Make-A-Wish meant starting to dream again, where the impossible becomes possible and where a wish either changes your life forever or completes it.
Make-A-Wish did not give me a trip. It didn't give me a concert or a meet and greet. Make-A-Wish gave me back my life and helped me find new strength.