Madeline (a.k.a. Maddie), a bright and talented 15-year-old sophomore from Thayne, is embracing her first year of in-person schooling after being homeschooled her whole life. Her dream of joining the school choir and pursuing her passion for art inspired her transition to school for extracurricular classes. Though she still attends her core classes online, Maddie excels in music, earning a spot in an audition-only girls’ choir and receiving a “Superior” rating at a Choir Festival. She even dabbles in piano and ukulele to accompany her singing.

If you know Maddie, you know that strong vocals don’t come easy for a young girl living with a respiratory condition she was diagnosed with at just six weeks old. This condition, paired with Maddie’s dream of escaping Wyoming to soak up the sun and beach, led to her wish from Make-A-Wish Wyoming to go to Hawaii (good thing she knows how to play the ukulele!).

Maddie’s journey hasn’t been easy. Born prematurely, she was diagnosed with a respiratory condition at six weeks old after struggling with failure to thrive just after birth. The diagnosis was overwhelming for her parents, bringing fears of a short life expectancy and the day-to-day challenges Maddie would experience. Throughout her 15 years, Maddie has lived her life with daily treatments, therapies, and careful monitoring of her health to avoid respiratory illnesses and complications.

“Maddie has always understood that her life revolves around therapy sessions, taking pills, keeping a close eye on her health, and avoiding being around others who are sick. In the last 15 years, things have truly changed for her disease and its advancements. The age expectancy was mid-twenties and that gradually moved into 30’s and one could expect to need a lung transplant because of the silent, unrelenting destruction that happens to her lungs. Thanks to these advancements and a new groundbreaking medication, we now get to anticipate watching Maddie grow into adulthood, which is a miracle,” says Maddie’s mom, Abbie.

This medication will restore Maddie’s body’s function to that of someone without her condition, giving her a chance at a longer and fuller life. Despite this progress, the disease’s demands and challenges remain ever-present, requiring daily dedication from Maddie and her family.

“As Maddie has grown and matured, we have worked to make her treatments part of her daily routine so that under our care and direction she can learn what it takes to stay healthy because she won’t always be with us and under our care—something that I am sure every parent with a chronically ill child worries about. But nothing has been able to stop her or slow her down and I am particularly proud as her mother with her music and singing abilities. She has a respiratory condition, and I feel like the time she invests in that is kind of her way of telling her condition to take a back seat. Her first duet in the choir concert and singing the national anthem were two very special moments in my life,” says Abbie.

For over a decade, Maddie’s care team encouraged her parents to submit for a wish granted by Make-A-Wish Wyoming. Initially hesitant, her family realized the profound impact this could have on her. Maddie chose a trip to Hawaii, ensuring her whole family, including her 3-year-old little brother, could join. The trip was nothing short of magical, adventurous, and filled with Maddie’s bucket list items.

Staying beach-side in Waikiki, Maddie and her family did it all including swimming and snorkeling in the ocean, eating great food, taking surfing lessons, going zip-lining, and exploring hidden gems of the Hawaiian island. Yet, Maddie’s favorite part of her wish trip was visiting Dolphin Quest to swim with the dolphins.

“The look on her face at the dolphin encounter that day had me in tears and as I look back on it I still get a little misty-eyed because it is the look of absolute pure joy. It was the moment that I knew that her wish was everything she needed and more,” says Abbie.

Alongside her parents and four younger siblings, Maddie explored Hawaii, learned about the history of Oahu, tried new, delicious foods, built sandcastles on the beach, and traveled off the beaten path to experience the true magic of Hawaii. A true bonus of the trip was when Maddie was reunited with a lifelong best friend who moved from Wyoming a few years prior and was visiting Hawaii at the same time as Maddie. Together, the girls enjoyed the aloha life on the beaches of Oahu and made lifelong memories.

“Aside from being the best vacation we’ve ever had, we had the most amazing week of memories we got to bring home with us. My intention that whole time with the wish trip was to give Maddie fond memories she could reflect on when the disease takes its toll on her mentally and physically. I know this trip meant the world to her in the present, but the wish will also have a long-lasting effect on her. These are memories made for a lifetime and the impact on our family can’t be minimized,” says Abbie.  

This trip was more than a vacation—it was a beacon of hope. For Maddie, it created memories to look back on when her illness decides to show its face. For her family, it provided joy, happiness, and time spent together simply enjoying life with chronic illness shoved to the back seat.

“It was the encouragement of other wish families that helped me to see how a wish has so much potential to bless our daughter with the memories of a lifetime. Something that no matter how much money we could put together would duplicate the feelings of your child being granted a wish, and one like the trip we got to take as a family,” says Abbie.

Now lifelong supporters of Make-A-Wish, Maddie’s family encourages others to support the organization so other kids can experience the magic of a wish. Their wish trip was a testament to hope's transformative power, showing that there’s space for joy and hope even amid challenges. You can refer a child in your life who is battling a critical illness or donate to support wishes across Wyoming at https://wish.org/wyoming.