Make a wish come true this Christmas
This Christmas, more than 14,000* children are living with a critical illness in Australia, just like Ewie. You can make sure they don't wait a second longer to unwrap the life-changing gift of a wish.
Your donation today will help spark hope and joy, not just for the wish child, but their family and whole community too.
A Weed in the Garden
When Ewan (who prefers to be called Ewie) was 6-years-old and diagnosed with bone cancer, his mum, Jess and dad, Alex were told that their son’s best chance of survival was amputating his arm.
To help little Ewie understand the changes that were about to occur to his body, Jess and Alex sat him down and explained, “Think of your arm as a garden. A weed has got in, and we can’t use weed killer any longer. We have to pull the weed out. Your arm doesn’t belong to you anymore, cancer has won, and we must take it away.”
After an incredibly challenging half-hour filled with tears and talking, Ewie asked to change the subject – much preferring to return to his Nintendo game. Ewie’s Mum Jess says that demonstrates just how extraordinary his sense of acceptance, resilience, and sense of humour is, even at 6-years-old.
A Family Holiday-Inspired Wish
The year before he was diagnosed, Ewie and his family went on a holiday to the Gold Coast in Queensland. Although he fell in love with the place, Ewie picked up a bug, which meant he couldn’t enjoy it as much as he wanted to. This is why his wish is to stay at a luxury hotel and go to the theme parks, to relive the perfect family holiday.
It was a few months after visiting the Gold Coast that Ewie complained of a sore shoulder, which turned out to be a tumour in his upper arm – bone cancer. And it had spread to Ewie’s lungs.
But every time Ewie imagines his wish, it takes his mind away from hospital and transports him to a happy place filled with huge swimming pools and his favourite cherry gelato.
It’s like a light at the end of the tunnel. Ewie keeps talking about what he’s going to do on our holiday. Splash down the water slides. Loop the loop on the rollercoasters. And he is so excited about the hotel…
Jess, Ewie's mum
A Rainbow After the Storm
Now that Ewie has finished his treatment, and he is learning to adapt to life without both of his arms – and in true Ewie style, he finds any opportunity to keep his family on their toes.
“He recovered so well; it was quite remarkable - he was quickly making jokes. He said, ‘I quite like being an amputee. I only have to wash one hand now!’ He was the one who drove a sense of humour after his surgery, which helped everybody in healing and coping.”
Jess doesn’t know what’s around the corner with her son’s health. But what she does know, is that Ewie’s wish “will only do his body good, to have a break from the day-to-day realities.”
A wish brings lasting benefits to body and mind – providing a break from routine and creating memories to offer comfort in the challenging times ahead. For children living with a critical illness, like Ewie, a wish is like a rainbow after the storm.
Give now to make a wish come true this Christmas
Every child deserves a Christmas full of joyful experiences.
Right now, a child like Ewie is dealing with the pain, fear, and loss of childhood caused by critical illness.
You have a unique and powerful opportunity to ensure these children don’t wait any longer than they have to for the life-changing hope and joy that only a wish can bring.
When you make a wish come true this Christmas you are giving a child with critical illness a gift like no other.
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'I wish to stay at a luxury hotel and go to the theme parks', Ewan (Ewie), 7, osteosarcoma
*Source: Bowers AP. (2022) Estimate of the number of children aged 3 to 17 years with a life-limiting condition in Australia. Figure estimated using data obtained under a Public Health Act granted for Bowers AP. Planning for paediatric palliative care services in Queensland: Characteristics, demographics and health needs of children and young people with life-limiting conditions [unpublished PhD thesis]. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology; 2020. Contact ap.bowers@qut.edu.au for further information.