Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo!

One of my responsibilities at my internship is to write wish stories about various wish kids. Here's one that I wrote recently. I loved interviewing this little girl's mom. This story is so sweet and inspiring.

There is no one else in the world like Jane*. She is truly a miracle. Jane was diagnosed with 10q22 10q24 trisomy. This is a condition where a child is born with three sets of the tenth chromosome instead of only two. This causes all sorts of health problems, and most children with this condition don’t live to see their first birthday. But Jane is now 11 years-old, and the only 11 year-old with this particular strain 10q trisomy in the world as far as Jane and her family know. So Jane’s family is enjoying every moment they have with her, and she gives her family endless joy and strength with her ever-abiding smile.

There hasn’t been much research on Jane’s condition because the survival rate is so low. So though Jane’s condition is a bit of a mystery, there’s nothing elusive about Jane’s personality. She’s a girly-girl through and through. She loves make-up, and pretty dresses, and especially princesses. So when Jane had the opportunity to have a wish granted through the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Utah, her wish was to go to Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida and meet all the Disney Princesses.

While at Disney World, Jane’s princess wish was taken one step further. Not only did Jane get to meet all the Disney Princesses, but she also got to dress up as a princess and have a princess photo shoot on the Disney Strip. Jane got the royal treatment. She got to dress up in her very own Cinderella dress and have her hair, make-up, and nails done. After her princess make-over, Jane had her pictures taken with all the Disney Princesses while everyone on the strip watched. It was a heart-warming experience for not only Jane and her family, but also everyone that passed on the strip and saw this sweet little girl being treated like royalty.

Jane’s mom said that this was just the vacation they needed to regroup and continue to face whatever new challenges this condition may inflict on Jane and the whole family. It’s Jane’s sweet smiles that give Jane’s mom the strength to face any challenge. As she said: “If Jane can smile through the pain, so can I.” She looks forward to Jane’s smile every morning. And for that week, Jane and her family didn’t feel stressed or worried, they could just relax and enjoy they time they had as a family and enjoy seeing the beautiful smiles on Jane’s face as she experienced her dream come true.

(* Name changed for child's privacy)

An Ode to Peppermint Oil

I got sick over the weekend. Just a nasty flu bug, but I'm still not at 100%. The worst part was the fever. My head pounded, my eyes stung, my muscles and joints ached, and my skin hurt to the touch. Then the fever decided to settle into my lower-back, hips, and knees. I still feel a little like an old, hunched-over, 80 year-old woman. And although I was able to keep food down (unlike my poor mom) I was so nauseous that everything made me want to hurl. My salvation on that count was Peppermint Oil.

It's a beautiful thing. You just pour a little in your hands and cup your hands over your mouth and nose. Just the smell of the oil is enough to aleviate the nausea. According to Young Living Farms (a local maker of pure essential oils in Mona, Utah) these are just some of the maladies that peppermint oil can help aleviate:

Asthma, bronchitis, candida, diarrhea, digestive aid, fever reduction, halitosis, heartburn, hemorrhoids, hot flashes, indigestion, menstrual irregularity, headaches, motion sickness, nausea, tumor growth, respiratory infections, shock, itchy skin, throat infections, and varicose veins. Other Uses: This oil may help arthritis, indigestion, depression, skin conditions (eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis), food poisoning, headaches, hives, hysteria, inflammation, morning sickness, nerve regeneration, rheumatism, may elevate and open sensory system, toothaches, and tuberculosis.

So 3 big cheers for Peppermint Oil!

End of Week 3! Where has the time gone?!?

I just finished up week three of my internship! Holy Cow it's going fast!

I think my boss and co-workers have realized that I'm a pretty competent worker (apparently especially in comparison to their last two interns that were pretty much blondes), so they are LOADING on the assignments. I have an ever-growing To Do list, but at least it keeps my good and busy so the time flies by. 

In addition to my assignments and projects, I also periodically accompany Katherine, Becky, or Krachel to meetings and various other things. Like yesterday, I went with Krachel to BYU Provo to set up a booth for the huge PTA conference being held there.

I think Krachel has kind of claimed me as her personal intern. I pretty much shadow her in everything she does. But I'm sure once the Rubber Ducky Derby prep starts, I'll feel like Becky's shadow. :)

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So Wednesday, I came home from my internship to discover a surprise waiting for me on the kitchen table.

It made me smile!

Made-Up Words and Nonsensical Phrases! My Favorite!

I'm adding another made-up word to my ever-growing list. Ready? Here it is: Bloggelling (at least that's how I'm going to spell it)

Bloggelling: the process of blogging late at night :)

I was talking with my best friend, Jason, about the new blog that I had started. But I was really tired and was stumbling all over my words, so instead of telling him that I had been blogging, I said that I had been bloggelling.

(that's me and Jason making pizza and breadsticks that
didn't turn out so well. hahaha)

So that's the newest of my made-up words. Others made-up words and nonsensical phrases include but are not limited to:

Romantical (although I looked it up and it is a word!)
Fantabulous
Don't get dead (taken from Emmie)
Angry sthparkleths (angry sparkles said with a lisp)
Stragedy
Wull Sure (Thanks Robby)
Like a slug
And the list grows rapidly

I made it through the first week!

I was so nervous to start this internship, but I've made it through the first week and I actually really enjoyed it. It's more of a stressful job than I thought it'd be, but I still feel like I'm doing something worthwhile so that makes the stress worth it too.

My first two assignments were to work on a Wish Story for a 7-year-old boy named Austin. Austin has Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy, which is a degenerative muscular disorder. But he wished to go to Disney World and the other resorts around there so he could meet his two favorite characters: Stitch and Spiderman! His mom says that Austin doesn't smile much, but he was "beaming from ear to ear" during much of his trip. It's so gratifying to see the effect that these wishes have on these sweet children and their families.

My second assignment was to coordinate and set up a time to shoot a Power of a Wish story for ABC 4 news. This is a feature that airs the second Saturday of every month at 6 am (Early, I know, but if you can, try to watch it. I know you'll love it!) and highlights a child that has recently been granted a wish by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah. The little girl that we chose to feature this month is Megan. She's a shy little girl (I think she's about 4 or 5) and she wished to have - like so many little girls wish - to have her own pony. So, at our last gala, Make-A-Wish presented Megan with her own pony along with free stabling, feed, and riding lessons for a year. Megan's mom says that Megan goes riding almost every day and it really brings out the best in Megan.

Sadly, I won't be there to see the feature being shot, but I'm gonna try to catch it on TV and I hope you do too!

I've been learning more about the process that the kids go through when they make a wish.

First, they are recommended to Make-A-Wish by their mom or day, a physician or social worker, or they can refer themselves. If they're chosen (based on Make-A-Wish eligibility rules) they receive a paper castle turret in the mail that has a message to them to come to A Wishing Place. There is also a key in the turret, which they are told will open a special door the A Wishing Place.

The Make-A-Wish that I work for is very unique. We were the first place to build A Wishing Place, and there is only one other place like ours in the nation. For most other states, the wish granters go to the child's home or the hospital. But we wanted our wish granting process to be more magical.

So the kid comes to the Wishing Place and they are taken upstairs where they play the Wish Granting Game. It's kind of like CandyLand and it helps the child decide what they want to wish for.

After they've decided on a wish, they write down their wish and put it in this golden tube so they can submit it to the Wish Wizard. Then they take the tube and their magic key and walk across the bridge into the Wishing Tower. This room is amazing! When you first walk it, it's all lit up with the child's favorite color, then the family goes in and shuts the door and the walls and floor of the room start to change colors and there's soothing music in the background. There's also a waterfall in the tower room.

In this room, the family circles around and tells the child what they would wish for him/her. Like, many moms wish for their child to not be in anymore pain during their treatments. They don't want to give their child false hope, but they do want to give their child hope.

The child is then told to follow the blue lights that light up in the floor. These lights take the wish kid behind the waterfall where they are told to put the gold tube in the golden cone. They then continue to follow the blue lights to this gold volcano looking thing in the middle of the room. This is where they submit their wish to the Wish Wizard.

Then this is where the magic truly begins. Soon everyone is working as hard as they can to make this wish come true and make everything about the wish perfect! I'm so grateful to be a part of this. I can't wait to learn more!!!

Make-A-Wish Foundation

Today I started my internship at the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Utah. This place is amazing!!! I'm so excited to be a part of an organization that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. This is a wonderful organization that gives hope, joy, and strength to Utah children, their families, and the whole community.

Make-a-Wish of Utah is only one of 65 Make-a-Wish branches in the U.S. Last year, MAW of Utah granted 140 wishes. Nation-wide, MAW grants an average of 1 wish every 40 minutes. To learn more about MAW, please go to wish.org or makeawishutah.org