The Transformative Power of Wishes | Make-A-Wish New Jersey

Physicians share the life-changing impact wishes have - beyond just medicine - on their patients and their families.
Wishes aren’t just a nice thing; they are a necessity. Research shows, and physicians agree, a wish can help improve a child’s quality of life and produce better health outcomes. These life-changing wishes replace fear with confidence, sadness with joy and anxiety with hope - making the impossible, possible for children battling critical illnesses. In fact, health professionals say the wish experience is an integral part of their medical treatment plan. Parents even say wish experiences are often turning points in their child’s battle for health.
This is why at Make-A-Wish it is our vision to grant every eligible child’s wish - to ensure more kids have joyful experiences ... and some of the best days of their lives. Whether it’s a wish to have a puppy, see snow or be a police officer, each wish we grant at Make-A-Wish is as unique as each child. Yet, one thing remains consistent - the undeniable power wishes can have on a child’s emotional and physical health.
A 2015 study* on the effects of granting wishes on children with critical illnesses revealed wishes not only increased children’s hope, they were often a key way to improve children’s quality of life. The wishes allowed children to think beyond the limitations of their illness. "It is possible that wishing enabled children to dream about what seem unobtainable, out of reach, and thus created an experience of achieving the impossible," researchers wrote.
Wishes not only transform the lives of wish kids, they unite families and strengthen communities. Families, who are often strained to the limit by stresses of their children’s illnesses, are repaired and strengthened through the shared experience of the wish process. When volunteers help grant wishes, they report feeling an increased sense of compassion and desire to help others and a greater faith in humanity.
That’s the transformative power of wishes. To learn more about the impact of wishes, visit wish.org/impact.
*Shoshani, A. Mifano, K. Czamanski-Cohen, J. (2015). The effects of the Make a Wish intervention on psychiatric symptoms and health-related quality of life of children with cancer: a randomized controlled trial. Quality of Life Research, 25(5), 1209-1218. doi 10.1007/s11136-015-1148-7
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.
Wishes have proven physical and emotional benefits that can give children with critical illnesses a higher chance of survival. And wishes not only help these children - they also have far-reaching, positive impacts on their families and communities.
For more information, visit nj.wish.org.
Facebook: @WishNJ
Twitter: @WishNJ
Instagram: @MakeAWishNJ
LinkedIn: Make-A-Wish New Jersey
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .