Beyond The Wish - Chloe
Meet Chloe, whose wish came true in 2024.
Chloe's wish to see Pink in concert was granted only a month before she grew angel wings and passed away.
Beyond The Wish is our series of inspirational reads exploring the impact of wishes after they have been delivered.
Pink's sunshine covers Chloe
About 10pm on March 19 last year, Michelle focused her camera phone on her sick daughter Chloe.
They were seated at the Pink concert in Brisbane. And Chloe’s face lit up as soon as she heard the opening guitar chords of ‘Cover Me In Sunshine’.
The concert was Chloe’s wish coming true. And that song, the particular highlight of her wish.
“That was like her one thing that she really wanted to see,” Michelle said.
“She was crying during ‘Cover Me In Sunshine’, which was really beautiful.”
Chloe grows her angel wings
Tragically, a month after the concert Chloe’s heart stopped working and she passed away.
Chloe was diagnosed as a baby with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic disease that causes the heart muscle to thicken.
The day of Chloe’s fatal cardiac arrest “she had a lovely day at home”, Michelle said.
Chloe was rushed to hospital at night. Placed on life support, she was surrounded by family and life-size cardboard cutouts of Pink and Taylor Swift when she passed.
Michelle described the moments before Chloe passed as “peaceful”.
“The way we like to think of Chloe now is that she grew angel wings and is now an angel in the sky,” Michelle said.
“That’s our way of sort of explaining it and understanding it.”
Making the impossible possible
Dad Dean said Chloe had about “100 different things” she wanted for her wish.
But the turning point came after Chloe watched a Pink documentary on Netflix.
The then 11-year-old told her mum that she wanted a wish that was an experience she would never forget.
Chloe was already a Pink fan but the documentary left her in awe and Michelle contacted Make-A-Wish.
And while Pink was in Australia at the time, she had already done her Queensland concerts.
That was until she added a late concert in Brisbane.
But with only a few days to go before the concert all tickets were already sold.
“There wasn't a lot to look forward to for Chloe at that stage. We knew things were getting really difficult with her health and she'd been through a lot,” Michelle said.
“And then Make-A-Wish called.
“I think the concert was on the Monday and they had called on the Friday and said ‘we've got tickets’.”
“There were lots of happy tears from Chloe.
“I didn’t think the concert was going to happen.It really was like the impossible got turned into the possible.”
Rockstar experience for Chloe
The girl renowned for always thinking about others was the centre of attention for her wish trip to Brisbane.
Chloe wasn’t feeling well. Some days she couldn’t get out of bed. But, as Michelle put it, she would have carried Chloeinside the stadium if it meant seeing the Pink concert.
Michelle didn’t have to carry Chloe, but she pushed her daughter’s wheelchair.
Earlier Chloe was given a warm welcome when she checked into her hotel.
Hotel staff had written on a card and signed it. Chloe then got her hair and make-up done.
The limousine driver opened the door for Chloe and made her feel welcome.
“Chloe had a nasogastric tube (for food, liquid and medicine) in her nose, which for an 11-year-old causes insecurity,” Michelle said.
“But everyone just made her feel famous.
“As we were going to her seats in the stadium people were stopping her and going ‘oh my goodness you look so beautiful’.
“She just felt like a rockstar.”
Videos capture wish happiness
The videos of Chloe singing along to Pink will always hold a special place in Michelle’s and Dean’s hearts.
“We were screaming and singing every word. It was just so nice that we were able to really enjoy that moment together,” Michelle said.
“I was just watching Chloe pretty much the whole time.
“I had a lot of videos, but most of them were of Pink and then I turned the video just to Chloe just watching her face, which is really nice that we have that to look back on.”
Michelle said it was so important for Chloe’s wish to be granted.
“I just can't imagine looking back, her not having had that,” she said.
“Because it was such a big part of her last few months.
“I don't think anything even came close to that happiness that it brought her."
'She had the best time of her life'
A few months after Chloe’s passing, Michelle and Dean (pictured) were guests at the Gold Coast Make-A-Wish Ball.
They were there to return money to Make-A-Wish that Chloe had not spent on her wish trip. Michelle said Chloe would have wanted that.
But they also wanted guests at the ball to remember Chloe’s story, so they bravely took the stage.
“We are so heartbroken,” Michelle told the audience.
“But,” she continued. “Chloe’s Make-A-Wish story is one that I refuse to feel sad about because how can something that brought her so much happiness be anything but happy.
“I think that is something that makes Make-A-Wish so incredibly special.
“It’s the lasting memories that the family have of pure joy in such difficult and uncertain times.
“I want Chloe’s story to be one where you remember the smile and happiness in Chloe's face that she had the best time of her life having her wish granted.”
