WISHING WIRE
Volunteer Newsletter | September 2013
Gabriella At Home in Her Cubby House!
It took months of doctors’ visits, scans
and second opinions before four-year-old
Gabriella’s diagnosis was made. What had
originally seemed like a simple tummy ache
turned out to be Wilms’ tumour – a type of
kidney cancer.
Gabriella was admitted to hospital immediately
for intensive chemotherapy before surgery to
remove a kidney could be attempted.
She had always been full of energy and perfectly
healthy, so this sudden turn of events was a
devastating blow, not least for parents Vicki and
Frank.
“We were just numb from the news and shock,”
Vicki recalls.
Surgery was eventually possible but Gabriella had
to endure further treatment for more than a year –
some of it very distressing. She held up bravely but
missed home and her family so much.
Volunteer Newsletter | September 2013
When the West Melbourne Branch volunteers
offered Gabriella the chance to make a wish, it was
missing home that inspired her imaginative choice:
to share fried chicken with family and friends in a
brand new cubby house of her very own!
Building of the cubby was kept a closely guarded
secret, so when Gabriella stepped into the
backyard and saw it for the first time, she couldn’t
contain her delight – perfect in every detail, it was
all that she’d dreamt of and more.
A house-warming party was held immediately;
friends, family and Make-A-Wish volunteers
gathering to share Gabriella’s excitement, joy and
– just to make her wish complete – a taste of her
favourite fried chicken!
The lasting power of Gabriella’s wish is beautifully
summed up by her mum: “Make-A-Wish has given
her something we couldn’t – a place to create years
of happy memories and find a piece of childhood
that she lost.” ?
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