Hi, my name is Aileen, and I’m 10 years old. I’m in 5th grade, and I’m just about to finish my second school drama performance. This past season, I played on two basketball teams, and when I’m not playing sports or on stage, I’m probably reading. Right now, I’m working my way through the Babysitters Club books.

And guess what? This summer, I’m going to overnight camp for a whole month!

I’m also just about to hit a big milestone—five years post stem cell transplant. 

Let me take you back to when I was five years old. I was in kindergarten, my little brother Connor was two, and my parents had just announced we were going to have another baby. Everything was great—until it wasn’t. That’s when I found out I had a rare type of leukemia, plus two genetic mutations in my blood. My case was really complicated, and doctors and researchers from all over the country were trying to figure it out.

And if that wasn’t enough, it was right when the whole world shut down because of COVID. I spent a total of seven months in the hospital. It wasn’t always fun, but we found ways to make it better. I played with Legos and painted with syringes (yes, seriously). We built forts, painted the nurses’ nails, watched movies, read books—and when I felt up to it, I played with my American Girl doll, Julie. My friend Gina at the hospital gave her to me after I shaved my hair before it would fall out because of my treatment. I even shaved my dad’s head, too!

When someone first suggested I apply for a wish, I didn’t think I should. I mean, I had already survived my stem cell transplant, and I knew there were so many kids out there who were deserving. But then it hit me… this was MY wish.

I didn’t choose to get sick with leukemia when I was five years old. I didn’t get to decide how many procedures I had to go through, or how many times I’d be poked with needles. I didn’t have a say in getting 3 cycles of chemotherapy or in staying at the hospital for months. After the hospital stay we had to be super careful in isolation for a whole year. A lot of things were out of my control. But the wish? That was mine.

One day the two Kathy’s, my wish granters, came to my house. They had some news to share. They played a video for me, it was awesome. Funny enough, it was at my Mom’s work and all her co-workers were in it. I found out from that video that my wish was granted!

I wished to go to Hawaii with my family. I had read about American Girl dolls going on adventures, and I thought—why not me? I wanted to swim with dolphins and see what the ocean looked like for real. I wanted to explore and just be a kid with my family next to me. I really wanted to go ziplining, but when I found out my little brothers were too small to do it, I picked something else because I wanted us all to do things together.

It was our first real vacation. The first time my little brothers flew on a plane. And for once, we weren’t worrying about feeding tubes or blood draws or spiking a fever. I was focused on what flavor ice cream to eat next and how many times down the waterslide I could fit into a day.

One day we hiked Diamond Head Crater. It was drizzling and cloudy, and not the best day to go for a hike. We had to take multiple snack breaks to keep my brothers going. It was so annoying at the time but looking back on it makes me laugh and reminds me of how much fun we had.

Thinking back on how NORMAL that moment was – for a little girl to be having a blast with her family and be so relaxed she could be annoyed by her brothers – I realize that on that trip I was able to just be a kid again.

My wish gave me something I didn’t even know I needed—the power to choose. After everything that had been chosen for me, I got to decide. And that meant the world to me. Thank you so much for helping to grant wishes for kids like me. I can tell you with certainty, wishes truly change lives.   Thank you!