A wishes sparks endless possibilities
As Paisley slowly plucked out the notes to“ Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on the family’ s squeaky old piano, with its broken leg and out-of-tune keys, she dreamed of a world where she had no limits.
Paisley, a vibrant, 10-year-old girl from Reading, Pa., was diagnosed with an endocrine disorder as an infant. This disorder affected her vision, leaving her legally blind, as well as requiring her to take a daily laundry list of medications to keep her hormones balanced.
But despite these challenges, Paisley is a bright, young girl. She reads braille, she does very well in school, she plays the cello and the piano and she even writes her own songs. But one problem had plagued her musical aspirations, limiting her from reaching her full potential.
She couldn’ t read braille sheet music, and she had no one who could teach her.
Paisley’ s family was so moved by her talent for music, and her perseverance for learning, that they knew they needed to help her with this dream. So, they reached out to Make-A-Wish.
When Make-A-Wish asked Paisley for her one-true-wish, she knew exactly what she wanted: a brand-new Yamaha piano and braille music lessons.
Make-A-Wish staff got to work right away and ordered her a beautiful Yamaha B2PAW B Series 45” vertical upright piano made of polished, American walnut. They also bought her a huge stack of printed and braille piano lesson books, three sessions of music lessons with a fellow blind musician in which they would go through the books together as well as gifting Paisley a ton of cute, piano-themed clothing and accessories.
As they rolled the new piano into her living room, Paisley grinned at her grandmother.“ I am so excited. I can’ t wait to hear how it sounds,” she said.“ I can’ t wait to feel it.”
As she ran her fingers over the shiny, new keys while her family watched, she began to strike the notes to that same, familiar song, much more fluidly and confidently now...
“ Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue And the dreams that you dare to dream, Really do come true.”