Farmington Wish Kid Meets Her Favorite YouTuber

Emma, now 11-years-old, was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal disorder as a baby. Throughout the years, she has endured many long doctor’s appointments and on-and-off medical troubles, making it difficult for her and her family to find time to take trips together.

That was until this past spring when Make-A-Wish Connecticut granted Emma’s wish to meet her favorite baker, Rosanna Pansino. “Emma has been watching Rosanna since she could figure out how to use electronics,” shares Emma’s mom, “Rosanna has really influenced her life in a positive way; she now loves to bake and watch baking competition television shows which both get her really excited.” This July, Emma and her parents traveled to Anaheim, California to meet Rosanna at VidCon – an annual gathering of online video viewers and creators.

“Getting to meet my favorite baker will be really inspiring because she’s so successful and her videos got me through a lot of my doctor’s appointments,” Emma expressed before her trip. When she was granted a wish and had the idea to meet Rosanna, she immediately knew it was the right choice. “Rosanna makes baking really fun. She’s always so happy which just makes me feel happy – I can only imagine what it’ll be like when I meet her in person,” says Emma.

According to her parents, a wish to meet Rosanna just made sense for Emma. “We could always scrape together the money to go to a specific place, but giving Emma the opportunity to meet her favorite YouTuber is something we just can’t do for her,” Emma’s mom shared prior to leaving for California, “We’re so grateful that this is something Make-A-Wish Connecticut can make possible for her.”

Now, just a few days after returning from her wish, Emma and her family are still over the moon. “Emma loved every part of it,” her mom mentions, “From flying on the plane to being in California to experiencing VidCon, she had so much fun.” Emma’s favorite part, though, was meeting her YouTube idol and getting to bake by her side. “Rosanna was genuine, encouraging, and so nice to the point where she was able to goof around with Emma, which Emma loved.” Emma left California with more than just new cake-decorating techniques from her favorite expert, though – she also took with her the kind, encouraging advice Rosanna gave her to help her through any future troubles she may endure. It’s safe to say that Emma has a friend in her idol thanks to Make-A-Wish Connecticut.

Over the past couple of months, Emma has been feeling much better. She plays center defense on her soccer team and is excited to be entering sixth grade this August. “This past year has been really good, and my experience with Make-A-Wish has made it even better,” Emma reveals, “I’m so happy to have had something good come from all of my years of struggling.”

Between June and August, Make-A-Wish Connecticut will grant more than 90 wishes to Connecticut children, like Emma, with critical illnesses—most will include travel. To help make their wishes come true, consider donating at ct.wish.org/summerofwishes.

ABOUT MAKE-A-WISH CONNECTICUT

Make-A-Wish® Connecticut creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. We seek to bring every eligible child's wish to life because a wish is an integral part of a child's treatment journey. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness. Together, generous donors, supporters, staff and volunteers across the state currently grant nearly 250 wishes a year. Since 1986, Make-A-Wish Connecticut has granted more than 3,000 wishes to local children. For more information about Make-A-Wish Connecticut, visit ct.wish.org.