Category: 2024

Rose Jackson is a 60-year-old woman who enjoys family time and vacationing with her husband until he lost his battle with cancer in 2017. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, but still works to maintain a sense of normalcy between treatments.

Stella’s Wish Foundation was able to grant her wish of traveling to Atlanta, Georgia for a weekend getaway to see her family. She was very excited to see her new great nephew who was born in June.

Alishia is a mother of two children who lives in Missouri. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she has been fighting for 5+ years. Unfortunately, the cancer spread to her bones and liver. She wishes for some memories for her kids to hold on to after her fight is over.

Stella’s Wish Foundation was able to grant this wish and send Alishia and her two kids to Branson, Missouri for a fun trip.

Bryan is a 20-year-old young man who is a bit of a foodie. His favorite thing is to try new menu items when restaurants around him release them. Bryan has Autism and was also diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive cancer that starts in soft tissue in the body and is most common in children and young adults. He lives with his grandmother, Ella Mae, and she requests assistance to help Bryan try as many new menu items from local eateries as possible.

Stella’s Wish Foundation sent Bryan gift cards to his favorite restaurants including Mcdonald’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Texas Roadhouse, and Chilli’s so he can sample some of their delicious new menu items.

Mario is a hard-working and full-of-energy father who is a role model to his children and enjoys working in his garden. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Cancer in 2017 and then had his kidney removed a few years afterward. He was later diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma that was unable to be operated on. He had targeted radiation in 2023 where he lost mobility on his left foot. Recent scans have revealed the tumor is growing as he has been told they need to operate in June or he can become completely paralyzed. He now is unable to do the things he loves, like gardening. His child reached out to Stella’s Wish and said “I just would love some good news for him finally” and asked for a trip for Mario and his wife after these discouraging times.

Stella’s Wish Foundation was able to send Mario and his wife on a relaxing trip to Waikiki Beach Resort in Hawaii for 6 days and 5 nights to decompress and spend quality time together.

Rae Ann is a 45-year-old mother of 2 small children. She was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, which caused her to be unable to work recently, along with her husband taking some time off to care for their family. They had been planning a big vacation with her mother, but were unable to go. Her husband requested a trip to Jellystone Park in Eureka, MO for a few days with a golf cart rental to help Rae get around more comfortably. Rae Ann is excited about the trip due to the relaxing nature of the park and the fun activities it will have for the kids.

Stella’s Wish Foundation was able to grant this wish and send Rae Ann, her husband, and their children on the trip to Jellystone Park. Jellystone is a family-friendly waterpark and campground in Eureka, Missouri.

Lindsay is a lovely 38 year old woman who lives in Texas and was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Linsay’s mother, Stella, submitted a wish for her daughter to visit Hawaii. Stella’s Wish Foundation was able to make her wish come true and assist with a trip to Hawaii.

 

Danielle and her family live in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2015 and had many treatments over the years. Recently, the tumor spread to her brain and she had surgery to have it removed in April. Her hope is now to optimize the quality of her life going forward. She hopes to make the most of her time and make lots of wonderful memories with her friends and family. Danielle asked Stella’s wish to give her an opportunity to make these special memories with her kids.

Stella’s Wish Foundation sent Danielle and her kids on a trip to Valleyfair Amusement Park in Wisconsin. They stayed 3 nights and spent 2 days in the park.

Allison was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in Feb 2019 at age 38. She had no prior history of cancer and was a mother of young children (ages 6 months and 4 years old) planning out their future as a family. After several months of back pain that wasn’t improving, she went to the ER, expecting to find something like a slipped disc. Instead, she was told that she had cancer spread extensively throughout my body, at the time including lungs, liver, and entire skeletal structure. Instead of going to work the next day, she headed to Boston for biopsies and emergency surgeries, where it was confirmed she had stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Despite being warned not to google results we did it anyway, and immediately started to panic as they read she had less than a 25% chance of surviving 5 years.

Allison wrote “The first year had several scary setbacks, but luckily I pulled through those initial treatments and got back to a point that I was stable with a moderate quality of life with my kids. We learned to live a new normal, with less physical activities and I gave up my hard earned career to save my energy, allow me the time I needed to attend an endless barrage or treatments, and limit my pain for meaningful family experiences. Giving up my career gives me more time for family, but limits finances for those special family outings.”

This year, Allison is celebrating making it to the milestone of 5 years of survival that seemed so impossible. She has had recent setbacks, including discovery of a brain tumor on Christmas Eve 2022, but thankfully radiation and recent laser brain surgery continue to buy her more time. These setbacks are constant reminders to make memories now while it is possible.

Allison made a wish to take a meaningful family trip to build lasting, meaningful memories for her girls to have in the future. “No amount of time will ever be enough to make up for the years I’m going to miss with my girls (now age 5 and 9), but I want to make the last of our time together as special as possible.  Traveling in celebration of the last 5 years together feels like the perfect time for this experience.”

Stella’s Wish Foundation granted Allison’s wish and helped them with a family experience at Story Land Hotel and Theme Park in New Hampshire.

 

David is battling colorectal cancer that has spread to his liver and is currently untreatable. He is extremely young at only 34 years old. The only thing he asked to do prior to dying was to dine at Hell’s Kitchen Restaurant at Mohegan Sun with his immediate family (5 of us) and order everything off the menu. He already lives in Connecticut.  His sister submitted his wish so that she could have them make it a big deal for him and give him one absolutely awesome experience to remember.

Stella’s Wish Foundation granted a Hell’s Kitchen gift card for the family.

“Thank you so much for arranging the wish for my brother, David. We very rarely go out to dinner as a family, I’d say the last time might have been in the early 2000s, so it was very special to have that bonding time together. The dinner was delicious, and my brother absolutely loved having a night out. He’s barely been out of the house for anything other than doctor’s appointments so he loved having some independence and freedom (we also got him a scooter so he could get around on his own). I haven’t seen him this happy in months.” – David’s sister

“Last night my son, with parents and siblings, got together and had a wonderful dinner at Hells Kitchen restaurant courtesy of Stella’s Wish. I wanted you to know how much we appreciated the experience. Getting together with the immediate family was beautiful in itself but to have a great meal and to see the smile on David’s face was the ultimate experience. He had not really been anywhere in many months other than to doctors and hospitals. This was like a breath of fresh air to him. I know that he truly appreciated it in every way. The work you do to help people with stage 4 cancer cannot be any more noble. It is beautiful bringing this joy to them. David and our whole family will always remember last night.” – David’s father

Bruce was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer that has metastasized to the liver. He has been doing Folfox chemotherapy, however his CEA continues to rise. He and his wife were to plan a wedding and family trip for my son in May, but had to cancel because of his cancer.

Their son eloped so that dad could be present. Got married at the courthouse with dad as his witness!!  Bruce wished to be able to spend a family trip together and have some family time together, and for assistance with hotel rental or beach house rental for us to take our entire family for four or five days. They have four boys, one daughter in law and three grandchildren and are willing to road trip and drive our own vehicles.

Stella’s Wish Foundation was able send a donation to cover Bruce’s travel expense to visit with his family.