I wish to go to the beach to have a Moana experience
Jocelyn
3
cancer
A Wish and a Disney Princess Inspire Hope for Jocelyn
A big Disney fan, she also loves to watch “Moana” and to sing along with her favorite princess. Jocelyn feels happiest, however, when she’s at the beach – she especially loves to play in the sand and get dirty.
But Jocelyn’s positive energy faded after she was diagnosed with cancer. Instead of fun family beach trips or singing, she endured radiation, stem cell transplants and six rounds of chemotherapy. Just as the days seemed darkest, Jocelyn turned to a special hero for inspiration.
“She is obsessed with Moana,” said Chrissy, Jocelyn’s mom. “Truthfully, Moana is what got her through two years of treatment.”
A referral to Make-A-Wish® brought the promise of brighter days ahead. Inspired by Moana’s adventures, Jocelyn wished to go with her family to a warm beach and play by the ocean.
Jocelyn and her family eagerly jetted away to Captiva Island, Fla., for the unforgettable adventure of a lifetime. Immediately, Jocelyn felt the warmth of the sunshine and the cool breeze from the sea. She saw palm trees and lush tropical landscapes. “She lit up as soon as she saw the ocean,” Chrissy said. “She loved playing in the water and the sand every single day, and we literally had to drag her out!”
Each day was filled with fun adventures. The family drove golf carts, watched gorgeous sunsets, went boogie boarding in the ocean and enjoyed a dolphin cruise. Jocelyn even had a special Moana-inspired beach day. She was gifted Moana’s outrigger canoe for future ocean journeys and looked every bit a princess with custom face paint and her own Moana-inspired bathing suit.
Jocelyn’s wish experience not only deepened her affection for Moana and the beach, it gave her renewed energy and strength in the fight against her critical illness. With Jocelyn now in remission, the entire family is hopeful for the future.
“Not only are these wishes a huge motivator to get through treatments and to see a light at the end of a very dark tunnel, but it allowed us to be together as a family, doing things we could only dream about,” Chrissy said. “The whole experience was magical from start to finish.”
For the past 40 years, Disney and Make-A-Wish have been providing magic to wish kids and their families when they need it most. Together, we’ve made more than 140,000 wishes come true for children around the world just like Jocelyn, and we’re just getting started.