Our goal at Wishes & More is to grant, to the biggest extent possible, the heartfelt wish of a child. One of the most challenging wishes to grant is a “Wish to Meet” opportunity because we have to rely completely on the person the wish child requests to meet. Aaliyah’s wish was to meet a young YouTube star named Adley. Our little gal has watched Adley’s videos for most of her life (especially when she’s been stuck in the hospital) and enjoys watching her play with her family and friends and make each day the “BEST DAY EVER!” Aaliyah was born with a serious and rare condition called Biliary Atresia. At just two-months-old, she underwent surgery to replace the clogged bile ducts that connect her liver and gallbladder with a piece of her intestine. Unfortunately, the surgery was unsuccessful and led to more corrective surgeries and ultimately to a liver transplant. Aaliyah still gets very sick and needs consistent care, but this strong girl is already turning five-years-old. She told us that her number one wish was to meet the “A for Adley” star and have a playdate with her. Adley’s YouTube channel transformed into a made up “friend” for Aaliyah while she has been cooped up in doctors’ offices and hospital rooms, so we immediately started chasing the opportunity to introduce the girls in real life. With a little bit of magic and help from Adley’s amazing parents, Aaliyah’s wish came true last week! During a Zoom meeting with Wishes & More, one of our Wish Granting Coordinators, Laura, waved her magic wand to make Adley and her family appear in the meeting! Aaliyah could hardly believe her eyes, and the excitement she felt during the whole 1.5 hour playdate can be best seen in the video link below! The playdate kicked off with Aaliyah finding a box full of goodies at her front door that Adley and Fam had sent to her. The box included an apron so that they could begin their first activity, creating a picture frame which they used to put their faces through for a photo op of their meetup! After crafts, they played their favorite game, Roblox, together and enjoyed finding out all the special things they have in common!
The following day, Mom wrote, “She’s been watching “A for Adley” on YouTube for years!!! Every hospital stay, transplant, rejection, her two bowel obstruction surgeries and for everything else, we were either watching A For Adley or Frozen. The nurses would even come in and watch with her, she always told everyone that Adley is her best friend and they are so much alike, and one day she would get to meet her, and I’m so happy Wishes & More and Adley’s family did this for Aaliyah & gave her the Best Day Ever!!” Please enjoy watching the clips of the playdate as shown on A for Adley’s YouTube show in the link below. We are so thankful to Adley and her family for helping us bring Aaliyah’s “Wish to Meet” dream come true!
