Shelly Flais is a pediatrician, clinical professor at Northwestern University, and wish parent. Last year, her daughter Nancy was diagnosed with cancer. Chemotherapy began almost right away and support staff referred the Flais family to Make-A-Wish Illinois.
Ramona and her family know volumes about isolation and distancing stemming from her brain tumor diagnosis in 2015. Surgery and proton radiation immediately helped, but doctors discovered a recurrence in 2018 and Ramona had another surgery and an additional round of more than 30 proton radiation treatments.
For the children we serve, the wish journey is just as important as the wish itself.
As a professional baseball player for 15 years, Donn Pall was living his dream as he stepped onto the field every day with the Chicago White Sox. He felt lucky to have that chance and decided then and there that helping make wishes come true was how he was going to give back.
After participating in Pennsylvania’s Franklin County Truck Convoy to benefit Make-A-Wish for seven years, Sid and Joy Eggers were shocked to find out that Illinois didn’t have one when they relocated in 2017. So, they decided to start planning the very first.
Make-A-Wish gave our family everlasting heart warming memories that we so needed in our lives...
As a sickle cell nurse practitioner, Tanisha spends most of her days engaged in care coordination and managing inpatient and outpatient rounding, prescriptions and family support. She also has the ability to refer patients to Make-A-Wish Illinois.
When her sister was diagnosed with cancer at 13-years-old, Kevynne Chawla first encountered Make-A-Wish. Her sister wished to travel to Hawaii and meet the stars of 50 First Dates. Now, 15 years later as a child life specialist, Kevynne is motivated to help every eligible child feel the transformative power of a wish that she witnessed firsthand.
While enjoying Dallas, eating dinner and playing the game that he loves most with professional golfer Anthony Kim, Nick didn’t realize how much of a role Make-A-Wish would continue to play into his adult life.
Every child with a critical illness needs the hope and resilience a wish can bring into their lives. As Make-A-Wish Illinois works to reach these children, more volunteers in every neighborhood are needed to create life-changing wish experiences. Right now, the need for bilingual volunteers is urgent.
Office Phone Numbers Chicago - 312.602.9474 Peoria - 309.637.1659 Springfield - 217.544.9470 Toll-Free - 800.978.9474 Sí, hablamos español.