Most of us know about the Make a Wish Foundation, a pretty popular charity that grants children who are terminally ill one last wish before they pass away from their disease.
Although tragic, this happens quite a lot. Not just children go through this, though. Plenty of adults and senior citizens go through the same thing. It’s obvious that children deserve final wishes since they didn’t get to live the life they should have been able to. What about mothers though? Mothers do so much for us every day, and many people don’t think about how important mothers are. Despite their self-sacrifice, many people even take moms for granted.
Ally’s Wish is a nonprofit charity organization from Dallas, Texas. Their goal is to grant a dying mother’s last wish, whatever that may be. They even go a step further, though Ally’s Wish happily provides everything the grieving family may want or need. According to Ally’s Wish, this includes “services, gifts, transportation, lodging…”. The funds that are needed for this are obtained through regular fundraisers.
But where did this idea come from? The founder of Ally’s Wish is a woman named Allyson Hendrickson. She discusses her journey on the website. She says, “I grew up in church, and my journey was pretty typical. There were no major tragedies or crises–until just a few years ago when I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Surgery took care of the tumor at that time, but last February I received the devastating news that the cancer had returned and had spread to several places in my body. I had a major surgery and long hospital stay, followed by intense chemotherapy treatments. Now, over a year later, I am still undergoing treatment on a regular basis. I have been told that, in spite of the aggressive treatment, the cancer will almost certainly come back at some point.” She talks about her journey through life and how her faith has been keeping her afloat through these tough times.
As she said, Hendrickson was told her cancer will come back. Even so, she powered through the diagnoses. She says she lost it all when she had cancer. Her pride, her hair, her weight. Cancer made her sickly and frail. Unfortunately, she has been bedridden for a while now, but her children and husband have been right by her side the entire way. She states that they are going through this with her. Hendrickson also says that her lord Jesus is by her side, guiding her through everything.
On the website, there is a page called Meet Our Moms. Here, you will find a list of mothers that Ally’s Wish has helped through tough times. Each has a photo of the mother and her family, along with the type of cancer and their final wish. Donations are taken to help pay for the wishes.
