Adlyn's Wish

Bursting with personality, Adlyn doesn’t let hard stuff get her down. Even if that hard stuff includes 42 weeks of treatment in Denver, her glowing personality shines through. Diagnosed with an aggressive, rare form of cancer in April 2022, 14-year-old Adlyn finished radiation and chemotherapy on Valentine’s Day 2023. Since then, she has regained her strength just in time for her trip to Hawaii, her dream wish from Make-A-Wish Wyoming.

Fun-loving and thoughtful, Adlyn is always smiling – even during the difficult and long journey of her cancer treatment. Though unquestionably challenging, both physically and mentally, Adlyn approached her treatment with a good attitude, making friends everywhere she went in the Denver hospital where she spent much of her time. No matter where she is, she’s positive and bubbly. Thankfully, that’s the Hawaiian spirit and it served her well during her recent trip to the islands.

Adlyn’s favorite parts of her trip to Hawaii included snorkeling with the sea turtles and splashing in the ocean waves. Together with her parents and twin brother, Adlyn also surfed, swam with dolphins, visited Pearl Harbor, and took a guided tour around the island of Oahu where they went to the Dole pineapple plant and ate pineapple ice cream.

“It was so nice to have a getaway after focusing on Adlyn’s treatment for so long. Her wish was the perfect reset for her and our family where we spent time doing new things with positive spirits. As a family who loves adventure and getting outdoors, Hawaii was a great place to spend time together doing new and exciting adventuring,” says Adlyn’s dad, Zack.

As a very active kid who loves sports and animals, Hawaii was the everything she could have hoped for after enduring weeks of cancer treatment.

“Of all the things we did even from the adventures and activities, just seeing Adlyn play in the ocean and watching her and her brother splash in the waves with such joy and childness was so rewarding. That alone was worth it all,” says Adlyn’s mom, Anne.

Adlyn is refreshed from her trip to Hawaii and just began her freshman year of high school where she is on the swim team, practicing two times a day, always with that smile on her face.

“A family gets torn apart during a treatment process like Adlyn’s where we are in different places, 6 hours apart for 42 weeks. To have had a week where we can just be gone, together as a family, is just a blessing after making it through all of this. To just live in the moment and be in the same place at the same time was really special,” says Anne.

Make-A-Wish Wyoming grants wishes for kids with a wide variety of conditions, even rare forms of cancer like Adlyn’s. You can help grant wishes and brighten days for kids all across Wyoming by donating or referring them to Make-A-Wish. Learn more at https://wish.org/wyoming.