Seymour Wish Kid’s Wish Impacts Her to This Day

Chloe, now 16-years-old, was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder as a baby. Throughout the past few years, she has had to take biweekly trips to the hospital to undergo treatment, giving Chloe nothing but negative experiences with her illness.

That was until February of 2018 when Chloe was granted her wish to go to Hawaii by Make-A-Wish Connecticut. Seeing that she loves all things tropical and has wanted to visit the Aloha State for as long as she can remember, her wish was the perfect opportunity to finally make the trip. “My wish gave me something to look forward to and talk about during my treatments,” Chloe shares, “I must have looked up pictures and information about the resort online one-hundred times while I was at the hospital.”

The next month, Chloe and her family experienced the beauty of Hawaii in countless ways – they zip lined through forests, rode horses up mountains, snorkeled in crystal clear water, and spent a night with fire dancers at a luau. Though all of her adventures were amazing, Chloe’s favorite part about her wish was being able to spend time with her family. “The wish brought me and my brother a lot closer,” Chloe recounts, “We still talk about the trip to this day.”

Aside from her wish, simply being a part of Make-A-Wish Connecticut had a significant impact on Chloe. “Being involved in this organization made me realize that I am not alone,” mentions Chloe, “I can tell that people are brought together and friendships are made through Make-A-Wish and it’s really nice to be a part of that.”

Since her trip, Chloe has been very busy with her favorite activity – cheerleading. She is on the varsity team at Seymour High School and looks forward to going to practice every day. When she’s not cheerleading, Chloe loves to bake – specifically cupcakes. “My wish made me look at life a lot differently,” she shares, “I now know not to take anything for granted.”

Between June and August, Make-A-Wish Connecticut will grant more than 90 wishes to Connecticut children, like Chloe, with critical illnesses—most will include travel. Thanks to an incredibly generous donation from The Yvette & Arthur Eder Foundation, every donation made to our Summer of Wishes campaign will have twice the impact. From now until August 31st, every dollar you give — up to a total of $50,000 — will be matched.

Let's make this the best summer ever for local wish children waiting for their life-changing wishes. Will YOU help us transform a life with this amazing opportunity? 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.