There are still times when we will be coming from a Make a Wish event and Hailey has her shirt on that says she's a wish kid that people will either give me that sad "I'm so sorry look" or they will actually come up to me and say, "oh how sad..." I decided a long time ago to always take that opportunity to explain to them that it's okay to ask questions and maybe learn and take something away from this meeting.
I've told people that being a part of the Make a Wish family is something we treasure and that we appreciate. They have helped us in so many ways. We have SO many great memories that involve the Make a Wish foundation. Because of them we are able to go to events with other parents of children that have life threatening illnesses and we can socialize and our kids can play and no one is looking at me with sad eyes saying how sorry they are that we have to go through this. We are treated like a normal family.
So many people do not know that you are able to be a part of Make a Wish long after your child's wish is granted. They have allowed us to be together as a family and create memories I'll have for the rest of my life. We've chosen to share these memories on Hailey's blog and Facebook page and twitter account so that people can see what we've done, and where we've been and they have an easier way to converse with us. I know it's hard for people to say, "How's Hailey?" because they think Hailey was diagnosed with a terminal brain disease how good can she be... Seeing the things Hailey participates in gives them the opportunity to say, "Hey I saw Hailey got to make pizza with a real chef with the Make a Wish foundation." and we can talk about it.
I keep trying to think back to before all this happened and I wonder how I reacted when I saw anything that had to do with Make a Wish. Did I think like how I see others? Did I think that it must have been so sad? I don't know, but I do know I want others to know that it's okay to ask us about Make a Wish events we've been to. If they have questions I'll be happy to answer them.
We consider Hailey to be a Make a Wish ambassador and we are a part of the Make a Wish family and we are happy they have accepted us and helped us make so many incredible memories with our daughter.
I didn't expect this blog post to start out that way, but I feel as if that is what I needed to say. Now onto the blog post:
The Grand Opening of Raising Canes North Las Vegas
Hailey was invited to attend the Grand Opening of Raising Canes last week and it was SO much fun. Raising Canes is a supporter of the Make a Wish foundation and gave 100% of the profits earned on the Grand Opening to Make a Wish of Southern Nevada. They wanted to invite Wish kids so that they can meet the local participants and share with their employees a little bit about the foundation.
Hailey with her hugs made a lot of new friends and we were able to share our story and what it meant to us to have their support. Not only was the Mayor of North Las Vegas there, but so was County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly.
Hailey was front and center with the other kids while the CEO of Make a Wish Southern Nevada told a little about what MAW does.
When it was time for the ribbon cutting Hailey thought the giant scissors were so funny.
The Owner of Raising Canes, Joe Micatrotto Sr. was extremely kind to all the wish kids and listened as Hailey told him what her wish was.
Hailey we are so proud of you and your kind heart! We love how you can make anyone's day better with one of your hugs and your sweet smile. You are one of the cutest Make a Wish Ambassadors that we know. Love you Hailey!
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