I’ve done my best to educate anyone who comes close to me, that in most cases, we grant wishes for children who have life-threatening illnesses but aren’t always terminal. In fact, most of our kids go on to lead extraordinary lives, but still, people believe we only grant a “dying wish.” Not true.
As things are getting warmer (finally) here in Vegas and we see everything blooming, most of our kids are blooming too. However, the truth of the matter is that many of our kiddos are still suffering through difficult treatments, fighting for their lives. So, while we celebrate those that get to ring a bell at the end of their treatment, oftentimes, we’re working with kiddos who have trouble believing hope still exists in this world for them.
Wish Child, Leah, during her Wish Discovery at The Wishing Place.
We strive daily to help these kids imagine and find their heartfelt wish to give them hope again or for the first time in their young lives. A respite from thinking of all the things they can’t control and looking forward to what they can control, their very own, personalized to their specs, wish.
It's not lost on me or our team how fortunate we are to be one of the “for impact” businesses that offer hope. And yet, one child’s passing can cause all of us to have a rough day or more. This is natural for us and is our occupational hazard. My husband and I had to put our cat of 19 ½ years down last week. We’ve been together for 34 years, so our cat, having been with us 19 years, shows our stamina? But the truth is that we miss her energy, and we look for her around every corner. We cling to the first time she did something (if we can remember that long ago) or the last time she walked around in the backyard sniffing all the plants and flowers my husband spends hours painstakingly tending. We know for now, it’s painful, but reliving these memories also allows us not to feel so alone and work through this together.
A day after we let our cat go, a kiddo came into The Wishing Place to discover her wish. I don’t think she’s discovered her wish quite yet, but I saw her climbing her way up onto our Wishing throne (see picture of Leah on the right). She didn’t want Mom or Dad’s help, she grunted as she climbed up, and when she got there, she threw her hands in the air, tilted her head back, and laughed the purest laugh in the land. She had climbed her own Everest. And in that moment, watching her taking her hope of sitting in that chair and making it happen, gave me hope. It took me out of a bit of my feeling sorry for myself and showed me that even the smallest of accomplishments can make you feel great. That no matter how dark things are, no matter what mountain we’re all climbing physically or emotionally, we can get there, if we don’t give up. I won’t give up.
This is just one example of what drives me daily. It’s impossible for some people to understand unless you experience it, but in our darkest of times, if we help others or see others making it through, we can imagine, like our kids, a better day, a future, a wish granted.
So, as the flowers bloom, I choose to see our kids blossoming, learning, growing, getting wishes granted, and being grateful that our team and I get to play a part in that for our kids and families. There will always be loss, it’s important to not fall into the abyss of loss and look toward renewal/hope. But you knew that, didn’t you? Guess I’m late to the party!