A WISH THAT UNITES A FAMILY C HRISTIE - WISH MOM L Inspired by her son’s fight against langerhans cell histiocytosis and how his wish positively transformed their family bond. Today, Christie is a wish granter, making wishes possible for other children just like Joseph. ife hit me upside the head… and rocked my world. My baby, Joseph, was diagnosed with a rare disease called Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis. Ever heard of it? I hadn’t. It’s scary, and each day I battled not to be scared. Nothing is harder than to see your child hurting, in pain, scared, and you can’t fix it. Each of my boys had nightmares, waking me in the middle of the night asking if Joseph is going to die, or asking if Jesus will fix him. How could I comfort them? Our family had always been so close, but Joseph’s diagnosis really brought us to our knees—and what Make-A-Wish Hawaii did was give us a way to come back together, in a way we couldn’t do for ourselves, and we are more united than ever because of it. My favorite moment from our wish journey was just watching Joseph and his brothers play, watching them have fun. It wasn’t just about Joseph; it was about everybody. And I know this will impact Joseph. With all the pictures, memories, carousel rides and seeing Mickey Mouse… even at 3-years-old, I know he’s going to remember. Joseph didn’t ask if he had to go to the doctors once during the entire trip, except when he was getting a stick-on tattoo, but I told him, “No, this is not the doctor’s. It won’t hurt. This is just for fun!” There are no words to describe how much this has helped our family. It’s not just a wish to go to Disney World or to Sea World; it’s an experience that truly is once in a lifetime. It’s something we weren’t be able to do for our children by ourselves. After all the challenges we experienced, this was our time to heal as a family, our time for uplifting. And now we look forward and rejoice in this blessing. “AFTER ALL THE CHALLENGES WE EXPERIENCED, THIS WAS OUR TIME TO HEAL AS A FAMILY, OUR TIME FOR UPLIFTING.” 10 2015 MAKE- A -WISH HAWAII ANNUAL REPOR T
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