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Wish granted
My wish came true!
*All donation goes directly to Make-A-Wish Korea. We are informing you that the organisation that collects and uses donations is the Make-A-Wish Korea.
The moment when ‘no way’ became the ‘reality’
6 years old girl Soyul who likes pink colour like other children, started to have large spots on her body while they were small before. Day by day, her nose bled more and more for at least 30 minutes every time. One day, red spots covered all her body and the family went to the hospital. In one day, she was transferred from a local clinic to a big hospital in Seoul. She was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
*Acute lymphoblastic leukemia: cancer of the lymphoid line of blood cells characterized by the development of large numbers of immature lymphocytes.
“Soyul, it is not your fault”
She stopped speaking because she felt tough due to continuous bone marrow examination and chemotherapy. Soyul even said that everyone in the hospital looked like monsters. After two months of psychotherapy, she started to recover and barely said hi to her friends/classmates. The question she kept in her mind while she stopped speaking was: “Why did this happen to me? Is it because I didn’t brush my teeth? Or is it because I slept late?”. Soyul tries to find a fault from herself. Soyul’s mother told her: “This is not your fault. This is just bad luck like you catch the flu.” Soyul silently nodded.
Wish, that makes a child as a child
Soyul is expecting to enter
the elementary school in March. It has been a year and 6 months during which
she stayed indoor since she left kindergarten that she could enjoy only for 3
months. She was scared that people will misunderstand her as a boy due to her
short hair. She was very worried when she goes out because of her weak immune
system. One day, Make-A-Wish visited the girl who has doubted herself that whether
she could overcome her condition. When Soyul was asked what her wish is, she
started to give play to her imagination like normal kids. One day she wanted to
be a patissier who makes macarons so that sick children can enjoy them as much
as they want, one day she wanted to realize an innocent wish such as being a
princess and make her house as a palace. Eventually, Soyul’s final wish is ‘I wish
to have a hundred dolls.’
“I will get over everything with the dolls!”
Whenever Soyul had tough treatments, she won a small doll. For her, dolls give her a driving force to endure tough treatments and act as a guardian angel protecting her when she fights against the disease. Soyul says that with a hundred dolls, she can fight all the scary things and win over them! The activity Soyul wants the most if she gets a hundred dolls is filming an unboxing video and upload it on Youtube. Please support Soyul’s wish so that she can get along with her friends at school after leaving the hospital.
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[News] Soyul’s wish diary Update
Thanks to all her supporters, Soyul’s wish day is getting closer.
Soyul is expecting to enter the elementary school and her meetings with Make-A-Wish have stretched her imagination: one day she wants to be a patissier who bakes macarons and the next day she wishes to be a princess and turn her house into a palace.
In order to realise Soyul’s wish, the volunteer team had the third meeting with her on February 7th. While they’re having a conversation about her wish, Soyul told the team that her wish had changed: “I want to have a Hello Kitty Room”, she said. Recently Soyul got to know ‘Hello Kitty’ and she has become very fond of Hello Kitty.
※ In order to elaborate a child’s wish, the Make-A-Wish volunteer teams usually meet the child three times. In the case of young children, who overflow with imagination, it is very common for them to decide to change their wish.
When asked about her previous wish, ‘I want to have a hundred of dolls’, Soyul expressed her excitement about wanting her room filled with Hello Kitty.
With a room filled with Hello Kitty, from the bedsheets to the wallpaper, Soyul says that she can do anything as long as she is with Hello Kitty.
Soyul, who is dreaming about her wish with Make-A-Wish, became much more active and chattier compared to before the start of her treatment. Please cheer up for Soyul’s wish until the day she realises her dream!
"Now, I can do anything with Hello Kitty!"
The day red spots covered her body, Soyul visited a local clinic and this is when her life changed. After being transferred to a university hospital in Seoul her family had to face changes in their life as well. Her illness does not hurt only her body but also her heart, as she stopped speaking because of the on-going intensive treatments.
Soyul’s mother wanted to prepare a small event for her to change her mood. However, she felt that there was not that much that she could do by herself. She heard of Make-A-Wish in the hospital and thanks to her application, Make-A-Wish Korea and Soyul could meet and started her wish journey together.
In January 2020, Soyul had the first day of meeting with volunteers who would share her wish journey. Thanks to her surprise welcoming message that she made herself, the volunteers received the warmest welcome.
Soyul, with a welcoming message that she made
Soyul, opening her heart by spending time with the volunteers
Through the meetings with the volunteers, Soyul gradually opened her heart and talked about her wishes. After three visits, Soyul confirmed that her wish is to have a room full of Hello Kitty.
Soyul was more excited than ever when she said she could do anything with Hello Kitty, dreaming in a Hello Kitty bed in a room plastered with Hello Kitty and studying at a Hello Kitty desk.
Soyul and the volunteers drew the kind of room she wanted, and what items would perfectly fit into Soyul’s Hello Kitty room. During the conversation, Soyul showed her bright smile and excitement all the time.
The document that is filled with ‘Hello Kitty(키티)’
**Make-A-Wish Korea uses a variety of tools to identify children’s needs so that their wishes can be fulfilled as much as they dream.
Soyul and the volunteers designing the ‘Hello Kitty room’
The wish was confirmed this spring, but a lot of time has passed before Soyul’s wish could come true due to the Coronavirus. Early of this spring, the Korean government enforced intensive social-distancing, hence, face-to-face meeting with the volunteers were suspended and allowing outsiders to enter the house such as plastering wallpaper was impossible. For all these reasons, Soyul’s wish-granting was delayed. However, her health is at the top of the list, all of us waited for the spread of the Coronavirus to slow down.
On the 11th of July, Soyul finally had her wish day. The volunteers could not be present at the event due to the Coronavirus, but they joined Soyul’s wish day through a video call. Many people made efforts for this special day. For example, to keep Soyul distance from her Hello Kitty room, her mother prepared another room in the house for her to sleep in. Moreover, the volunteers made video messages so that Soyul could have a moment of excitement on her wish day.
Soyul entered her Hello Kitty room full of anticipation. Her wish day began with the granting of the ‘Good Sister award’, which was a tribute to her courage in the fight against her disease. Wearing a pretty dress that she chose herself, Soyul lit the candles and blew them off by singing a wish day song. Soyul’s smile of joy lingered around her face as she looked at the Hello Kitty items that the volunteers picked for her.
The image of Soyul’s certificate and herself receiving her award
헬로키티 소품과 선물을 열어보는 소율이
Soyul’s Wish Day was over, she thanked the volunteers for spending all this time together and lied on the bed that she wanted so much.
Before and after of Soyul’s Hello Kitty room
After Soyul’s wish day, her mother sent heartful messages to the volunteers.
Thanks to your generous support, Soyul is having a cosy night in her long-awaited Hello Kitty bed.
Soyul, whose dream is to become a ‘true princess’ with an elegant figure, consideration, and love for others, is still dreaming a dream full of hope in her Hello Kitty room filled with many people’s support and love.
Together, we support Soyul’s future to grow up to be a true and wonderful princess with even more love than she received.
Have sweet dreams, Soyul!
