Eleven-year old Amy from Barnsley is in remission from a form of leukaemia that can’t ever be cured. Amy’s mum, Ciara, reached out to Make-A-Wish® UK because she wanted Amy to have a special something to draw a line under her traumatic and painful experience, and celebrate the start of a new and happier chapter of her life. Make-A-Wish’s Wishgranters visited Amy and heard about how, more than anything, she would like a ‘scare experience’ with her friends.
Make-A-Wish is asking local residents if they can help Amy by sponsoring her day of emotional healing. Amy’s wish came true in April 2019. It is still open for sponsorship and your donation will be restricted to her wish.
Until the age of ten, Amy was a happy, healthy girl, who loved to read Goosebumps and watch Netflix horrors. But after several doctor appointments for what was thought to be tonsillitis, Amy and her family’s world was turned upside down. Amy was diagnosed with leukaemia, a type of childhood blood cancer which had already infected 91 per cent of her blood. Amy started chemotherapy the very same day she received her scary diagnosis and was extremely poorly for the first six weeks of treatment.
Amy has faced challenges, medical treatments, and pain that most adults will never experience, but she is determined to not let her illness define her. Her wish demonstrates that just because a child has been diagnosed with a critical illness, it doesn’t mean they don’t still love to have fun and get that adrenalin rush!
A wish is more than medicine for Amy and the more than 1,000 children who Make-A-Wish grant wishes to each year. A wish gives a child hope, wonder, and joy when they need it most. Laughter is sometimes the best medicine, and Amy’s wish is sure to bring plenty!
Amy’s Mum Ciara said, “I’m so proud of her and how she has coped. I love saying that Amy is my daughter. We were supposed to be her rock through all of this, but she ended up being ours.”
To find out more about Amy and her wish, or to make a donation towards it, please visit make-a-wish.org.uk/wishes/stories/amys-horror-experience-wish.
Make-A-Wish UK grants life-changing wishes to children with critical illnesses. To make a donation to help a child experience their One True Wish, or to find out more please visit make-a-wish.org.uk or telephone 01276 405060.
