Sydney had no clue she was sick before physicians officially diagnosed her with Crohn’s Disease. Shortly thereafter, the 16-year-old was also told she had a rare genetic chromosome that would require her to have surgery on her heart and thyroid.
She thought of that regularly when her mom shared with her stories from her work at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and even considered not referring for a wish when others suggested she might qualify.
“Lots of my mom’s patients were wish kids and she was told that she should see if I would qualify,” said Sydney. “When I found out I could get a wish, it was a great day.”
With sense of adventure and determination that the pain of her diagnosis wouldn’t stop her, Sydney considered many option when thinking of her wish but it always came back to travelling.
“I wanted to go somewhere I could snorkel and spend quality time at the beach,” she remembers years later. “But I wanted to go somewhere I hadn’t been before and Puerto Rico looked amazing!”
Sydney and her family left for her wish trip right after her high school graduation and, to Sydney, it felt like being a celebrity.
I always think about my wish and how much fun it was. Together, my family looks back on my wish as such a great time, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Sydney, wish granted 2010
“The room was beautiful, the food was great, the water was perfect,” she said. “Everyone knew I was wish kid and treated me so kindly. At that time, the Crohn’s disease was still pretty new and my wish really helped me forget about the pain and focus on fun.”
Sydney says she believes her wish really helped her on her path as a volunteer on the weekends and as a respite worker for kids with autism.
“I understand the stress families feel with a serious diagnosis and a disorder that affects their daily lives,” she said. “I often think about how everyone on my wish focused on me and my happiness and use those memories to help me do the same for the kids I serve.”