Your support made Carmelo's wish come true
It was a smile seven years in the making
A month ago, Carmelo’s father Nat slowly ushered his 7-year-old son into the kitchen. His wish for a cavoodle puppy was about to come true.
“We wanted it to be a surprise so we kept it a secret,” Carmelo’s mum Daniela said. “We brought the puppy inside while Carmelo was in his bedroom.
“Then Nat called out to him, ‘Come into the kitchen; there’s something here for you!’ Carmelo immediately jumped up and asked, ‘Is it a dog?’ He was just so excited when he saw the puppy he named him Milo and said it was the best thing that’s ever happened to him.”
Carmelo’s medical journey started late in 2020 when he began feeling unwell over a few weeks. He had blurred vision and kept losing his balance. Daniela felt something serious was wrong and asked doctors to scan Carmelo’s brain.
“They agreed and did an MRI scan in the morning. That evening, we got the bad news,” Daniela recalled. Carmelo was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.
I had a feeling because they took a really long time to do the scan and when they pull you aside and take you into another room … you know there’s something wrong,
Daniela Carmelo's mum
Treatment begins for Carmelo
Carmelo soon began radiation to treat his tumour. He had to miss the last term of school and forget about seeing friends, playing soccer, and fishing with his dad, all the things he loved to do.
Within weeks the radiation started to work, however the side effects took a toll. He left the hospital in a wheelchair, unable to walk. But slowly, after many weeks, improvement came.
Although Carmelo requires ongoing medical treatment, he recently has begun to return to his usual happy self.
A wish for a new friend
Helping Carmelo through the dark times was Make-A-Wish volunteer and Wish Force champion Monique. “I remember a beautiful boy sitting on his mum’s lap and he was very, very animated,” she said. “He knew exactly what he wanted. A little toy cavoodle,”
Due to his medical condition, Carmelo’s wish was classified as urgent. The Wish Force moved quickly to deliver the puppy as soon as possible.
Daniela said Carmelo told her that he loves Milo.
“He gets up early now, about 6am, to take Milo outside and feed him.”
“When he gets up in the morning, he always has a smile on his face. “And at night time, Carmelo will lay on the floor with his head on the couch and Milo will sleep next to him.”
Daniela said Milo will play an essential role as Carmelo’s medical journey continues. “When he’s not feeling so good, they sit on the floor together and watch TV,” she said.
It’s just a beautiful and amazing thing that Make-A-Wish has done for my son. Because there’s no way we would’ve been able to get this puppy on our own.
Daniela Carmelo's mum
Thank you!
“You can see Carmelo is a lot happier now. I just want to thank Make-A-Wish and the breeder for making him a priority and all the people who donate and make it possible for wishes to happen.”
Thank you for your amazing support, you helped make Carmelo’s wish come true.