As Chief Mission Officer at Make-A-Wish®, I keep doing this work after 35 years because of wish kids like Annie. Your support is how we brought her wish to life, so I hope you’ll take a moment to read her story. 

For nearly two years, Annie had to sleep standing up after she was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease. Her parents learned how to operate her dialysis equipment at home to try and keep her comfortable, but the machines being used for her overnight treatments required Annie to be upright to operate properly.

When Annie’s family got the call that there was a potential kidney match awaiting them in San Francisco, they made the nine-hour trek to California – hoping the entire way that it was a match for Annie. It was.

Following her transplant, Annie still fatigues easily. But her energy levels and mood improved enough to grant her wish: to be a farmer.

Dressed in a cowgirl outfit, Annie spent her wish experience in a small Nevada farming community where she bottle-fed piglets and other baby animals, harvested seeds, rode a tractor and made homemade ice cream. She even hopped right up on a horse called Tiny for a ride around the fairgrounds.

Annie’s wish provided her and her family a moment of relief after many difficult years of treatment for kidney disease and a difficult transplant surgery. It's the generosity of supporters like you that brought Annie’s wish to life and gave her the strength to continue to face the life-long medical complications she’ll have.

As we approach World Kidney Day, I can’t help but think about all of the other kids who are still waiting for their own life-changing wish as they face the harsh realities of kidney conditions and other critical illnesses. That’s why I’m turning to you today. We set an ambitious goal to fund 100 wishes before World Kidney Day is over on Thursday, and I’m personally asking for your help:

Please, in honor of World Kidney Day, make a donation to help us change the lives of kids facing kidney conditions and other critical illnesses through the power of a wish.

Thank you so much for all you do,

Frances Hall
Chief Mission Officer
Make-A-Wish