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.”