Soraya's Wish to go to Hawaii

Make-A-Wish is important to me because it reminded our family that even in the middle of profound grief, there is still room for joy. As a pediatrician, I have spent my career caring for children with serious illnesses. As Soraya's mom, I learned that some of the greatest healing doesn't come from medicine—it comes from moments of connection, laughter, and hope. When our lives became consumed by appointments, therapies, and the uncertainty of a progressive neuromuscular disease, Make-A-Wish gave us the opportunity to focus not on what Soraya had lost, but on how we wanted to live.

The memory that has had the greatest impact on our family is watching Soraya and her sisters surf in Hawaii. On land, her disease had already begun taking away so much of her independence. Her wish for a surfboard was never really about surfing. It was about freedom, possibility, and experiencing life without limitations. That image of her in the ocean continues to remind us to seek joy, even when life is unimaginably hard.

The wish experience also carried us through our medical journey in ways we never anticipated. It gave us something to look forward to when so much of life revolved around medical decisions and hospital visits. It shifted our conversations from diagnoses and treatments to beaches, sunsets, and adventures. Today, as Soraya receives hospice care, those memories remain one of our greatest sources of comfort. Make-A-Wish did not change her diagnosis, but it transformed how we experienced that chapter of our lives by filling it with moments that grief can never erase.

It also helped give us a template for how to live. Our family started creating intentional moments of connection and experiences WHILE we navigate Soraya’s illness and progression. For the first time, I realized how to live and carry both things.

I believe people should donate to Make-A-Wish because a wish is so much more than a trip or a special experience. It is hope made tangible. It is the chance for families to create memories that will sustain them through the hardest seasons of their lives. Long after the suitcases are unpacked, the impact of a wish remains. For our family, it gave us a beautiful chapter in Soraya's story that we will carry with us forever. That is a gift beyond measure.