Why we are doing this fundraiser
He entered Remission on September 18, 2021, a slight delay as we almost lost him due to a severe infection in the middle of treatment, and then COVID two weeks before his treatment was meant to end.
Make-A-Wish gave Zandyr his wish in 2024. When a Child is so young at diagnosis, it is common for families to wait until their child can communicate their Wish and we opted for this also.
Zandyr's initial wish for a home.
We had struggled to find stable housing and it had impacted him in many ways. It was hard to hear him make that wish, and harder for them to say they couldn't provide that. We had many meetings with Make A Wish to find a new Wish and work out the details.
In January 2024, Zandyr, his siblings and us parents were picked up in a limousine and taken to the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in the city, where we had two days with all food covered. They even paid for the two movies we watched as we ate our delicious dinners together! The breakfasts were the best we ever had, and the first time we had waffles. Waffles are now a special treat for our family at home.
On the morning of the second day, we were taken by Limousine to Westfield Carousel. The center manager, some staff and a photographer met us with a red carpet, and as Zandyr climbed out, they cheered loudly in celebration of beating cancer.
We were taken to many different stores, where Zandyr was congratulated for beating cancer. At San Churros, the amazing manager supported Zandyr to make us delicious drinks and love heart Churros. Thankfully, the center manager had plenty of tissues, because we had a hard time with tears the whole day.
At JB HIFI, we saw the staff had made a gorgeous handmade banner. Zandyr was gifted an iPad and alot of Osmo products. This had been his wish, for an iPad to play Osmo on. When the staff then presented him with a significant amount on a gift card, and also his siblings, we were floored. We watched, stunned as Zandyr and his siblings were able to purchase things that we never could have given them. The joy in that moment was the strongest we had felt in our lives.
We were taken to a bookstore, EB Games and a sports store, where Zandyr and his siblings received gift cards. In each store, we watched as they chose something they had wanted for a long time, the excitement and surprise sweeping us all up.
We then went to get lunch at TGIF, were us as parents got a quick moment to process everything and have an emotional moment away from the eyes of our kids. To finish the day, we played a round of Mini Golf and received some fun merchandise!
Then it was back to the Hotel for our final night (and breakfast!), and had a long swim in the amazing pool.
Multiple times during our experience, we as parents were also offered gift cards, but chose to use them on the kids, as we knew this was probably the only time we would be able to purchase things they had wanted. Seeing that happiness, was the best thing we got from Make A Wish.
Make-A-Wish may focus on children, but they managed to grant a wish for us as parents, too. We will forever be grateful for what they gave Zandyr and his siblings. That shared memory shone brighter than the awful moments they witnessed along the way. No child should have to fight for their life so young, and no sibling should feel the complex and difficult emotions of watching a sibling fight mortality and death.
This is why we are hosting a Halloween Make-A-Wish Fundraiser. So that we can help other families have the opportunity to have a shared memory that they can remember and hold onto. Let's work together to pay it forward for the next family!
Let's go!
Please visit us on Halloween!I'm fundraising for...
After our son Zandyr was diagnosed with Leukaemia, we made a choice to support other families impacted by Childhood Leukemia.Zandyr received his Wish from Make a Wish after he rang the bell, and the Wish helped put a positive memory in with all the hard, uncomfortable and negative emotions.
This year, we finally own our own home and want to make our usual Halloween celebrations go that bit further.
Please join us in raising money for the next family who needs a good memory during the worst period of their lives.
