Behind The Wish: Ellie Wilson

Meet Ellie Wilson, a former wish kid who wants to give back as a volunteer.

Ellie's wish to meet One Direction in 2015 was granted, inspiring her to join Make-A-Wish nine years later as a volunteer.

Behind The Wish is our series of inspirational reads diving into the everyday superheroes involved in creating life-changing wishes.

DIAGNOSIS

Ellie leans on family for support

I was just constantly sick throughout my childhood. I always had a cough, always out of breath, and I never had energy. Doctors put it down, a lot of the time, to an attention disorder.

They thought I wanted attention or it was a behavioural issue. At one stage they thought it was a lactose allergy.

There was one time when I was 11, that the doctor suggested a chest X-ray. From that, they said to my mum, ‘Take her to the hospital and get her tested’.

It was just a very long process, in and out of various doctors’ rooms.

I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) just before I turned 12. That’s unusual, because you are usually diagnosed at birth.

I had no idea what it was and I kind of refused to acknowledge it for such a long time. When I was 16 or 17, I thought maybe I should learn about this. Up until then I thought I would let my mum handle it. I can be really naive and pretend it doesn’t exist.

It has affected me a lot. I lost friends when I was diagnosed just because they didn’t really know how to handle that. I understand now, as an adult, that’s a lot to put on a 10-year-old.

At the time it was like, 'Is she going to live or is she not?' I can understand why they distanced themselves and were a bit confused.

But we rekindled our friendships.

Because of my health, I had to step away from work so I’m not working at the moment. When I was working, I always had to choose between my work life and my social life. It got very hard in the end.I am very lucky to have a good support system at home.

My mum, Rachelle is my number one support, so too is my stepdad, Craig (pictured).

Craig didn’t come into my life until I think I was 14 but he was there for me straight away and in it for the long run.

It has impacted my life so much. Like for example my friend said to me the other day, ‘Come to Beyond The Valley music festival’ for New Year’s Eve. For me, it’s a long day of just getting there and a long day there.

I even have to think about how I’ll store my medications. And I have to think about whether I can nap. My friends don’t have to think about these things at all. But I am lucky I have surrounded myself with people who do get it and accommodate me.

I was also diagnosed with chronic fatigue, unfortunately, so being well-rested is my main thing.

At the time I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, under 30 was my life expectancy which at the time I thought was old but now I am 22 turning 23, it’s only seven years away. That is not enough time to meet someone, get married, and have kids. It’s a very short amount of time.

So, I like to live like I am going to die tomorrow. I don’t like to waste time.

I know people who have had children and they had illnesses and knew they were going to pass away. And I feel if I think like that, it’ll put me off a lot of things and make me feel down. I just think, 'What can I do while I am here?'

I’m feeling really good at the moment. I take more than 20 tablets a day. I’m on a drug called Ivacaftor which acts like a cure but it’s not a cure. My body thinks I am cured but I am not.

WISH BEGINNING

Doctor's wish suggestion the best medicine

The first time I heard of Make-A-Wish was from my doctor at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.

My doctor knew how much I loved One Direction and one day he told me One Direction had just announced a tour.

He said, ‘Let’s try and get them to meet you’. And I was like, ‘Yes!’. And then he introduced me to the idea of Make-A-Wish.

I had heard of Make-A-Wish before, so I was interested.

I’m obsessed with One Direction, to an abnormal extent. I have the words 'One Direction' tattooed on my right leg. And then I got my Louis Tomlinson smiley face tattooed on my right wrist.

The Make-A-Wish team had everything organised and we were ready to go. I remember I was sitting at home and I was on Instagram watching a video of a girl who had just met Harry Styles. And I thought, 'What do I really want?' So, I spoke to my mum and said, ‘I think I really want to meet them’.

So, I emailed Make-A-Wish and said, ‘So sorry, but I have to meet One Direction for my wish’ and they said, ‘No worries’ and they got it organised ASAP.

I think it was like a few months before they were coming on tour, so it was getting really close.

At the end of the day, I did want to meet them as a sick kid because I was meeting One Direction and my so-called ‘friend’ was not! Who was the real winner here? *laughs*

So the Make-A-Wish volunteers came back to my house and they said, ‘Are you sure this is what you want?’ and I said, 'Yep it is what I want'.

I remember saying, ‘I want to meet One Direction but Louis is my number one, I need to hug him’.

I remember when mum got the call from Make-A-Wish to say the wish is happening. And I just remember hearing the words ‘Ellie’s going to meet One Direction’ and immediately I was screaming and crying, I was so excited.

Anyone from that point who would look at me I would tell them ‘I am going to meet One Direction’. It was the most exciting thing I think I have ever experienced in my life.

When I talk about it, I get emotional. All the time. I am the sort of person that celebrates anniversaries. Like when I was given my wish and when I was given the wish. It is coming up to 10 years since I started my Wish Journey and I still remember every second and every step and I will tell anyone who will listen to me.

When you have something like a chronic illness going on in your life, friends become distant because they don’t know how to deal with it. My family didn’t know how to deal with it. So, I kind of looked at One Direction like how people look at Harry Potter and Hogwarts. It was my fantasy world, my escape.

I know it’s such a 12-year-old thing to say but One Direction were there for me. Even though they don’t know who I am and they don’t remember me, they were there for me in the absolute darkest times of my life.

WISH TRIP

Happy tears and hugs

For my wish, Make-A-Wish flew me to Sydney. All the Make-A-Wish kids were meeting One Direction in Sydney.

My expectations were extremely high but they were definitely met. It was the greatest day of my life.

Surprisingly I was able to sleep the night before but I’m going to put that down to my CF and being extremely exhausted. My body just had to shut down and sleep.

We flew up the day before and oh my God, all I could think about was One Direction. It was the first day of their tour, so I remember being on Twitter all day looking for what they were doing, where they are, where are they staying.

We got up in the morning and went to KFC and then for a swim. It was me, my mum, my brother, my grandmother, my auntie, my cousin and then my best friend and her brother and her mum. But only me, my mum, and my friend Bella met One Direction.

We got ready in the hotel, took some photos, and a limo picked us up. We stopped at a park and took some more photos and then headed to Allianz Stadium. It was the second concert I had been to but it was the first big concert. I remember all the merch for sale and seeing people walking around with glow sticks.

My mum bought me a t-shirt and a flag which I still have today.

They took us to our seats; we were on the floor. Probably 20 seats from the runway we had such a great view. We sat there for a bit watching the opening act until we were told it’s time to meet One Direction.

I was so nervous; I was already crying. I was so scared. They took us up to the room where the meet-and-greet's were taking place.

There was a line, and I remember constantly looking at Louis while I was waiting. He was the last of the group to make his way through. It only lasted 50 seconds but I expected it to be less.

They said to me, 'Don’t expect hugs, it’ll just be a photo and that’s it.'

But I was very lucky, I hugged them all. When I got to Louis, I gave him a big hug and I was like ‘You are my everything, I just love you so much’.

He said, 'Where do you want to stand for the photo?’ and I said ‘I want to stand next to you’ and we took the photo and I gave him another hug and I said, ‘Thank you so much, enjoy the show’.

Then we had to go down some stairs to get back to our seats and I remember just bursting into tears. I could not believe what had just happened. What in the world is going on! It was just the best thing. My mum was crying. My best friend was crying.

When we got back to our seats, it was nearly time for the show to start. I was in my element. I don’t think I have ever been happier.

They were all so incredibly nice. I have a really soft spot for Louis. Obviously when I first became a fan, all my friends were 'Harry girls' and I thought, 'I better be a Harry girl.'

But when I was watching all their interviews, Louis was just gorgeous – personality and looks wise. I heard someone once say, 'He makes everyone feel safe and loved' and I agree with that.

I have met him two more times since my wish. It is so true. He makes you feel so safe and comforted. It was what I needed at the time of my wish, to feel safe.


WISH POWER

'I am going to focus on being happy'

I started my medication two months prior to the wish. Even though it was kicking in, I was still pretty sick. I went into hospital two weeks after the concert. I was pretty sick, I was taking a lot of time off school.

The wish took place over four days. I pushed the cystic fibrosis to the side mentally, even though I was still doing my medications. For that weekend CF didn’t matter, it was irrelevant, and I didn’t worry about it.

The wish went above and beyond my expectations. I remember crying a lot out of just pure happiness. I was never sad. I always thought, 'OK it’s going happen and it’s going to be over and then I’ll be sad.'

But it’s so true when people say, ‘Don’t be sad it’s over, just be happy that it happened’. I am so happy it happened. I have never felt so much happiness as I did on that weekend. It was like my own little fantasy. It was like a Harry Potter fan being able to go to Hogwarts. That’s how I felt.

At the time they were still together, they hadn’t broken up yet – that happened later. I remember thinking to myself I need to be alive to experience this again. I need to be here for their next concert, I need to be there for their next album.

I feel like a lot of people judge me for being that typical fan girl. That they are not the be all and end all.

But when you have such little time, you kind of just cling onto things that make you happy. It’s a short amount of time I’m going to be here, so I am not going to worry about what anyone else is thinking. I am just going to focus on being happy and loving life. I am my best when I am happy.

IMPACT

Reminders of a truly happy time

I think the wish has definitely made me a lot more mentally stronger.

I don’t like to think, 'If I didn’t have the wish, what would my goals be?' Because I’m like, 'No this is how it was. I have got CF and I was so lucky to have this wish.' If I think about what could have been, I just get sad. So, I am like. 'This is what happened and what is coming up next, that is exciting.'

Nine years later, I look back at it the same way. That it was pure happiness and pure joy. And I am so grateful it ever happened.

It took a few months of organisation to make the wish happen. I think I was talking to people from Make-A-Wish for about a year.

I was given my own Make-A-Wish book with my itinerary. It wasn’t a lot but it was filled with One Direction pictures. Even nine years later, if I am feeling a little sad, I’ll pull out the book and see what I was doing that day, what I had on that day. That book is just my everything.

WISHFORCE

On a mission to make wish kids feel special

The main thing about joining Make-A-Wish this year was that volunteer work seemed the best fit for me because I am not able to work now. It’s not scheduled, I can choose when I do certain things.

I was sitting on the couch one night and it was like two o’clock in the morning and I was thinking about my wish and I thought I loved my wish so much and the volunteers meant so much to me on my wish.

One of my favourite stories is still that the volunteers who had come to the concert and they were a bit closer to the runway. And they said, ‘You would probably appreciate our seats more, do you want them?’ and I was like, ‘Yes please! It would mean I would be closer to Louis’. The volunteers made my wish special and I want to do that for other kids.

They were such a huge part of my wish. I want to be able to do that for kids as well. I know how important it was for me to look back on those memories and have every single moment. I want to make sure everything goes perfectly for our new wish kids.

I had a few interviews to start with, over the phone, before I could join. At my first Branch meeting, I was very nervous.

I thought people would look at me a little bit differently because I was a Make-A-Wish kid and I’m still sick. But, in the best way possible, they didn’t ask about anything. It was just straight to business. And I thought, 'This is perfect, they are not treating me like a sick person.' Everyone was so friendly. I got assigned to my first wish that day.

It is a little girl who wants to go on a Disney cruise. We haven’t been able to go and visit her yet but hopefully that’ll be happening soon.

I was so excited and I told everyone when I came home from that first meeting. I wanted a wish kid and I have got one! I told everyone everything about her. I was so excited, I felt like I was back on my wish.

I just want her to get what she wants and have the best time. I just want her dreams to come true and that she gets to meet Mickey and Minnie.

Another wish I have is for a boy who wants a puppy dog. It’s another perfect wish. I love dogs, I have two of my own. I call them my children.

I am doing both wishes and fundraising since I joined the Branch. I am the Fundraising Coordinator. It is very exciting for me. I have slight experience in fundraising. When I was first diagnosed with CF, the medication I am on now was $300,000 a year and it was not on the PBS, so mum and I did a lot of fundraising to try and raise money but thankfully before we raised that amount of money it was put on the PBS.

So I have a little bit of a fundraising background and my mum (pictured above) is a great support, she says, 'Any kind of fundraising support you need, I am on it, and I will help you.' My thought process is that without funds we won’t be able to do wishes for kids. I like to look at it as, 'If I wasn’t here, we aren’t getting donations' – so I put everything into it.

At the moment we are organising a drag queen bingo night.

I am 100 per cent sure I’ll experience highs as a volunteer. Just thinking about other kids' wishes and hearing their stories, I get so excited. I love hearing about other wish kids’ stories.

Make-A-Wish gave me hope. They really just gave me faith in the future. They gave me something to look forward to in such a dark time. The wish was a reminder that there are things to live for.

And today, now I have something to look forward to: hearing other kids’ wishes. I look forward to thinking. 'What is a little thing we can give a wish kid as an anticipation gift? What would he or she like?' I just get so excited.

Ellie has been a proud volunteer since 2024