I wish to go to Ireland to see leprechauns
Keira, wish granted in 2018
cancer
For Keira, every day is St. Patrick’s Day
“As the months go by and it gets closer to leprechaun’s day, I think of ways that I can support them or make people more convinced that they could be real,” Keira says.
On the big day, the whole family gets dressed up in green pjs, decorates the house, and gets ready for an adventure. There’s usually a fun surprise or two in store for Keira and her older brother Kolby, and there’s always Irish dancing.
Keira first became obsessed with the holiday when she was in preschool, after she received a book about leprechauns from her grandma. She absolutely loved it and read it over and over again. She even brought it into school for show and tell so that her classmates could learn about leprechauns too.
Long before her cancer diagnosis, Keira dreamed of visiting leprechauns in their natural habitat, so when she learned that she qualified for a wish, the decision came quickly. When she was facing the toughest parts of her treatment, the idea of the trip to Ireland became a bright light during a difficult time. Keira and her medical team discussed leprechaun habitats while preparing for lumbar punctures, and one of her nurses even shared photos from her own vacation to Ireland.
Keira says that her knowing her wish was on the horizon really helped her get through those painful and uncomfortable hospital visits. “It made me feel more energized, and ready to go,” she explains. “I was pretty excited. I asked about it a lot.”
Today, when you ask Keira about her wish, she still lights up. She he has so much to share—she just can’t stop talking about riding the double-decker bus around Dublin, visiting the National Leprechaun Museum of Ireland, learning about ancient stories from the Book of Kells, visiting a beautiful castle with a fairy garden and toadstool mushrooms, and the gigantic pizza the family got to create (and eat!) one afternoon.
During her wish trip, Keira had the unique opportunity to visit a real leprechaun whisperer—a special person who can understand and speak to leprechauns—on his farm in the Irish countryside. He showed them a leprechaun cavern, taught Keira a few special secret rituals, and named her as the official leprechaun whisperer of San Francisco, a title she proudly holds to this day.
Keira’s mom Courtney was amazed by the care and thought that the Make-A-Wish Ireland team had put into planning every step of their journey. Although Keira didn’t get to see any leprechauns up close, she knew they were near. At every destination, leprechauns were leaving little hints and gifts for Keira—a green scarf, delicious chocolates, some green candies. “The leprechauns were around and watching us,” says Courtney. “It was really fun.”
Not only was the trip a dream come true for Keira and a fun-filled adventure for her family, it also symbolized the end of her battle with cancer.
While Keira was facing treatment, doctors asked the family to remain within a 30-mile radius of her hospital in Stanford. So when they were finally cleared for travel, the trip to Ireland represented a new beginning. “The wish was very impactful for our family, just to get to that point—because Ireland is so much further than thirty miles,” explains Courtney. “It symbolized that Keira was getting better. It was extra special.”
Today, Keira’s cancer is in remission, and she’s feeling much better. She believes that all sick kids should have the chance to have a wish experience like hers. “I think it gives them something to look forward to, in their hard times,” she says. “They get to do something with their family, and they get to meet people. I think it’s good for them to focus on something instead of getting poked, or getting LPs, or getting any of the other treatments that they might have to get.”
The family is making the best of the quality time they’ve had together due to the pandemic—cooking up fun recipes, playing together in their backyard, and going on long hikes and bike rides. They’ve also chosen to stay connected with Make-A-Wish—Courtney has recently joined our inaugural Wish It Forward Council, an incredible group of wish parents and alums who have stepped forward to help build a community that lives on beyond the wish experience by offering families opportunities to stay connected with our mission.
“Just to connect with other parents and spontaneously end up sharing our individual stories has been so wonderful,” Courtney says. “Making calls has been really nice.”
She says that every wish family that she speaks to has an incredible story to share and looks back on their wish experience as a joyous moment in the middle of a painful and scary period. “Finding those little silver linings has been healing for me,” she says. “It feels like in some small way, I’m making a difference too—helping to build that community.”