I wish to go to the Atlantis Resort

Jessica, wish granted 2008

congenital heart defects

Jessica Looks Back Fondly On Her Wish

Jessica Looks Back Fondly On Her Wish

Jessica was born with four different congenital heart defects - pulmonary stenosis, transposition of the great arteries, ASD and DSD. “I've had four major open-heart surgeries,” Jessica says. “My last open-heart surgery was 2008, when my aunt referred me for a wish.”

When thinking about her fondest wish, the then fifteen-year-old found inspiration in the adventure of some of her favorite TV actresses. “I chose to go to Atlantis Resort because Mary-Kate and Ashley went there on a show,” she says. “The Olsen twins went, so I needed to go!”

“My wish came about six to nine months after my doctors agreed that I had fully recovered and could travel,” Jessica continues. “And only after my mother made me go again to the cardiologist before we got on the plane!”

Jessica Looks Back Fondly On Her Wish

Their time spent in Atlantis, bonding as a family, proved to be a much-needed reprieve from the day-to-day realities of battling multiple diagnoses. “Since I was diagnosed within two hours of being born, I never knew anything different,” Jessica says. “The whole Make-A-Wish experience for me was just amazing because for somebody to stop and slow us all down and say, “you deserve this, you have been through a lot” was stunning.”

Almost fifteen years after her wish, Jessica still looks back fondly on the experience and has worked to pay it forward. “Since my wish, my family and friends have done the Walk & Roll For Wishes events over the years,” Jessica says. “That's something we always love to participate in, to give back and raise awareness and make sure we were supporting such a great cause. When I worked for a public school, I did a dance-a-thon for Make-A-Wish, which the kids loved. It opened up such a great conversation about what Make-A-Wish does. I got to tell my story to the school, and the kids had that personal connection.”

For somebody to stop and slow us all down and say, “you deserve this, you have been through a lot” was stunning.

Jessica

wish granted, 2008