Sydney loves swimming, mermaids, unicorns, faeries, and all manner of fanciful and fantastic creatures. For fun, she swims, watches game shows and comedies, rides her bike, draws, and is a very competitive UNO player.

In 2022, she was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease and started treatment at St. Luke’s. Syndey and her family learned that she would need a kidney transplant, and it was during that time that the family found out that Sydney was eligible for a wish.

“I didn’t know this going in. I thought that Make-A-Wish® was only for terminally ill children. I didn’t know it was for other conditions and illnesses, too. I would highly recommend that if your child is going through something medically complicated that they talk to their healthcare provider about a wish,” Susan, Sydney’s mom, said.

When she found out that she qualified for a wish, Sydney was very excited. The whole family was. Since she loves fantasy, Disney and, especially, Frozen and its fantastic characters like Anna, Elsa and Olaf, it made a Disney wish an easy choice.

It wasn’t until 2023 that Sydney received her transplant. The procedure was successful and wish kid Sydney is doing very well these days. However, the family opted to wait for a year after the transplant so they wouldn’t have to worry about germs or complications during their trip. (Transplant recipients take immunosuppressants and numerous safety precautions to keep their body from rejecting the organs which can be a harrowing experience during the first year. After that time though, safety precautions are relaxed, although transplant recipients usually take medicine for the rest of their lives.)

While waiting for the wish post-transplant, Sydney’s wish granter Nancy would send Sydney little gifts to help keep her spirits up which meant a lot to the family. Susan said that they were also able to use the idea of the trip as a motivator to keep Sydney focused on her recovery and the future.

After two years of waiting and anticipation, the family boarded their Florida-bound flight, and Sydney was able to meet the pilots, sit in the captain’s chair, and learn about the inner workings of a commercial jet.  
In Orlando, the family visited three of the four Disney parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios, and it was at Norway in Epcot, that Syndey met her favorite frost-rimed princesses, Ana and Elsa and their silly snowman sidekick, Olaf. In addition, the family also had the chance to explore Universal Studios and Sea World.

Susan said, “It was all amazing,” but she wanted to give props to Give Kids the World Resort, the Orlando resort that’s just for wish kids. “That alone was its own wonderful experience.”  She remarked that the resort always had food available, and no one ever went hungry.

Susan also said their family was treated like royalty at Universal Studios and Disney World. The longest they had to wait at the Disney parks was fifteen minutes, and there was no waiting at all at Universal.

“The trip was like a prize for Sydney after everything she’s gone through. She was just really excited to go. At the end of those two years, the wish was definitely a celebration for her.”