Make-a-Wish Foundation Australia has been granting wishes to very sick children and teenagers for 21 years. Goulburn’s Sharon Wilson has been organising the granting of wishes in south-eastern NSW for all of those years.
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On Saturday, Mrs Wilson and some of her helpers brought the good news to Makaylah Presbury of Goulburn that she and the Presbury family would be going on a week-long holiday to the Gold Coast.
Armed with tickets and an itinerary, the Make-a-Wish team met up with the Presburys at the Workers Club to prepare the family for the adventure ahead.
Movie World, Sea World and Wet & Wild will provide a special experience to take Makaylah’s mind away from the countless hours and months of treatment for her acute leukemia, which is in remission. Makaylah was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukaemia in late 2012.
Granting wishes distracts children from the pain of medical treatment and their inability to participate in regular activities that other children enjoy.
It is not only children who suffer, but siblings and parents are also put under unimaginable pressures and stresses,” Mrs Wilson said. “Putting a smile of the face of the wish recipient also benefits the families and often they are able to share in the experience.”
Makaylah and her family were all looking forward to the holiday. The littlest member, Bohdi, was too young to appreciate the theme park experience, so instead received a soft toy and a weekend at his grandma’s.
Mrs Wilson said the Make-a-Wish Goulburn branch was in need of more volunteers and supporters to help the organisation fundraise for the growing number of children and teens who needed a wish to be granted.
“...Next we have two wishes to be granted: one in the Southern Highlands and one in Cowra,” she said. “We need volunteers right across our area from Eden through to the outskirts of Sydney, out to Cowra and beyond, as well as in Goulburn. Anyone who can lend a hand is welcome to contact me on 0402 744 102.
“Our major fundraiser is the annual dinner dance, which brings together people from right across the region to Goulburn and it will be held on May 20. We need people who can donate prizes for the various fundraising activities on the night including the raffle. The 2017 theme is a Hollywood masquerade.”
Darryl Fernance
Photojournalist at the Goulburn Post
Photojournalist at the Goulburn Post
