National Board of Medical Examiners 100th Annual Meeting (plenary), 2014
Final SGP
1. Hirschsprung’s Disease
& the Make-A-Wish Foundation
Amanda Metricarti
Period 9
Rieger
http://www.wish.org/var/wish_user/storage/original/image/e8d70669a91b9456b72432fe262c204b.jpg
2. Thesis Statement
The Make-Wish Foundation not only grants
life wishes of children with life-threatening
diseases, like cancer, but also other serious
diseases that might not take a child’s life.
http://ncwishball.org/images/dreams_homepage.png
3. Why this topic?
“We make a living
by what we get, but
we make a life by
what we give.”
~Winston Churchill
http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/49146955.png
http://www.quotegarden.com/helping.html
5. Hirschsprung’s Disease (HD)
*What is it?
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hirschsprungs_ez/images/Digestive_Boy.jpg
6. What are the large intestine, colon,
rectum, and anus?
Large intestine
colon
rectum (connects)
anus
http://www.consumerreports.org/health/resources/images/conditions/colon_default.jpg
7. Why does HD cause
constipation?
Short-segment HD
Healthy Long-segment HD
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hirschsprungs_ez/images/L_Intestine_Nerve_Cell1.jpg
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hirschsprungs_ez/images/L_Intestine_Nerve_Cell2.jpg
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hirschsprungs_ez/images/L_Intestine_Nerve_Cell3.jpg
8. What causes HD?
Before birth
cells grow in
direction of anus
With HD
cells stop growing
soon
http://nursingcrib.com/wp-content/uploads/hirschsprung-disease1.jpg
9. What are the symptoms?
Severe
constipation
Intestinal
Obstruction
hdawarenessribbon.jpg
10. Symptoms in Newborns
Vomiting
Swelling of abdomen
Gas
Bloody diarrhea
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hirschsprungs_ez/images/FemaleDoctor_Baby.jpg
11. Symptoms in Toddlers and
Older Children
Not being able to “go”
Slow growth
Lack of energy
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hirschsprungs_ez/images/tiredgirl.jpg
15. Biopsy
A small, slender core of tissue is
removed with a biopsy needle and
looked at under the microscope.
http://findmeacure.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/liver-biopsy41.gif
16. Treatment
The Pull-through
Procedure
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hirschsprungs_ez/images/L_Intestine_Procedure2.jpg
17. After the Pull-through
Procedure
May have diarrhea for awhile
After awhile they will go less
Must learn to use muscle
Most learn to have better bowel control
19. Post- Ostomy Surgery
They will feel better
Learn to change
May feel
uncomfortable
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hirschsprungs_ez/images/OstomyNurse_Boy.jpg
20. Diet and Nutrition
Fluids
Infants need feeding tubes
through nose or incision
in abdomen
High-fiber foods
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hirschsprungs_ez/index.htm
22. Facts
• The cause of HD is unclear. HD is not caused by anything a
mother did while pregnant.
• If a family has a child with Hirschsprung's disease, there is a 3 to
12 percent chance that another baby they have will also have the
disease.
• Hirschsprung's disease occurs in 1 out of every 5,000 live births.
• Hirschsprung's disease causes 25 percent of intestinal
obstructions that occur in newborns.
25. Make-A-Wish
The Make-Wish Foundation not only
grants life wishes of children with life-
threatening diseases, like cancer, but
also other serious diseases that might
not take a child’s life.
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSsi0K6iaG19TskBAbY6ypcNDbYhN6uy7UAdZMbh0yJMZ6JuuSN&t=1
29. “A wish experience is frequently a source of
inspiration for children undergoing
difficult medical treatments and a positive
force that helps them overcome their
obstacles.”
~Make-A-Wish Founders
http://www.wish.org/about/how_we_grant_wishes
30. Step 1: Referral
Step 2: Medical
eligibility
Step 3: Finding the true wish
Step 4: Creating joy
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5054/5499862096_e25fac1d1c_m.jpg
31. Wishes
I wish to go...
I wish to be...
I wish to meet...
I wish to have...
tumblr_lgpraxRJnf1qbbj38o1_500.jpg
32. FAQ
Does the family have to pay for the
wish?
How much does granting a wish
cost?
http://www.wish.org/about/frequently_asked_questions
33. Ways to Help
general donation
e-cards & certificates
volunteering time & talents
Adopt-A-Wish
shop to help
http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
https://secure.wish.org/
http://donate.wish.org/volunteer
http://www.wish.org/help/donate/cards_and_certs
http://www.wish.org/help/donate
http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/adopt_a_wish
baby-hands.jpg http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
34. Ways to Help
general donation
e-cards & certificates
volunteering time & talents
Adopt-A-Wish
shop to help
http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
https://secure.wish.org/
http://donate.wish.org/volunteer
http://www.wish.org/help/donate/cards_and_certs
http://www.wish.org/help/donate
http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/adopt_a_wish
baby-hands.jpg http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
35. Ways to Help
general donation
e-cards & certificates
volunteering time & talents
Adopt-A-Wish
shop to help
http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
https://secure.wish.org/
http://donate.wish.org/volunteer
http://www.wish.org/help/donate/cards_and_certs
http://www.wish.org/help/donate
http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/adopt_a_wish
baby-hands.jpg http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
36. Ways to Help
general donation
e-cards & certificates
volunteering time & talents
Adopt-A-Wish
shop to help
http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
https://secure.wish.org/
http://donate.wish.org/volunteer
http://www.wish.org/help/donate/cards_and_certs
http://www.wish.org/help/donate
http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/adopt_a_wish
baby-hands.jpg http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
37. Ways to Help
general donation
e-cards & certificates
volunteering time & talents
Adopt-A-Wish
shop to help
http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
https://secure.wish.org/
http://donate.wish.org/volunteer
http://www.wish.org/help/donate/cards_and_certs
http://www.wish.org/help/donate
http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/adopt_a_wish
baby-hands.jpg http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
38. Ways to Help
general donation
e-cards & certificates
volunteering time & talents
Adopt-A-Wish
shop to help
http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
https://secure.wish.org/
http://donate.wish.org/volunteer
http://www.wish.org/help/donate/cards_and_certs
http://www.wish.org/help/donate
http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/adopt_a_wish
baby-hands.jpg http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
39. Ways to Help
general donation
e-cards & certificates
volunteering time & talents
Adopt-A-Wish
shop to help
http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
https://secure.wish.org/
http://donate.wish.org/volunteer
http://www.wish.org/help/donate/cards_and_certs
http://www.wish.org/help/donate
http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/adopt_a_wish
baby-hands.jpg http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
40. Ways to Help
general donation
e-cards & certificates
volunteering time & talents
Adopt-A-Wish
shop to help
http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
https://secure.wish.org/
http://donate.wish.org/volunteer
http://www.wish.org/help/donate/cards_and_certs
http://www.wish.org/help/donate
http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/adopt_a_wish
baby-hands.jpg http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
41. Ways to Help
general donation
e-cards & certificates
volunteering time & talents
Adopt-A-Wish
shop to help
http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
https://secure.wish.org/
http://donate.wish.org/volunteer
http://www.wish.org/help/donate/cards_and_certs
http://www.wish.org/help/donate
http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/adopt_a_wish
baby-hands.jpg http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
42. Ways to Help
general donation
e-cards & certificates
volunteering time & talents
Adopt-A-Wish
shop to help
http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
https://secure.wish.org/
http://donate.wish.org/volunteer
http://www.wish.org/help/donate/cards_and_certs
http://www.wish.org/help/donate
http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/adopt_a_wish
baby-hands.jpg http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
43. Ways to Help
general donation
e-cards & certificates
volunteering time & talents
Adopt-A-Wish
shop to help
http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
https://secure.wish.org/
http://donate.wish.org/volunteer
http://www.wish.org/help/donate/cards_and_certs
http://www.wish.org/help/donate
http://www.wish.org/help/fundraising/adopt_a_wish
baby-hands.jpg http://www.wish.org/help/shop_to_help
53. CONCLUSION
"In helping others, we shall
help ourselves, for whatever
good we give out completes
the circle and comes back to
us."
~Flora Edwards
http://www.wow4u.com/helping/index.html
Editor's Notes
I did my SGP on Hirschsprung’s Disease and the Make-A-Wish Foundation...\n
The Make-Wish Foundation not only grants life wishes of children with life-threatening diseases, like cancer, but also other serious diseases that might not take a child’s life. \n
My whole life my family has been taking in foster kids up until this year and it has really set an impact on my life and made me realize that maybe it’s not so bad helping others who are in need. And then I came across this topic and thought that it would be really great to get involved with this foundation. I never really knew what the Make-A-Wish Foundation was about until I started researching it and it turned out to be really life-changing and inspirational, so I decided that I would get far with this topic. Now, I’m not exactly saying that what my family does and what the Make-A-Wish Foundation does are really the same thing, because they’re not. They both just kind of connect in the way of how we kind of do somewhat similar things in the manner of helping kids. The picture on the left says, “welcome to the land of Make-A-Wish. where a child’s joyful dream becomes a reality. And a heartfelt wish really does come true!” and then the quote on the right says, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” i just thought that what my family has been doing my whole life maybe made a great impact on a few people and i like to think that we kind of “made their lives” by giving them a family. And with the Make-A-Wish Foundation I adopted a little girl’s wish and she has Hirschsprung’s disease, and now I’m going to tell you all about it. \n
You all have papers on your desks, they have about eight true and false questions. So, before I start telling you about the disease, I’m just going to read over these questions and you guys can just shout out whether you think it’s true or false. \n
To start off in basic terms, Hirschsprung’s Disease is a disease in the large intestine that causes severe constipation. \n\n
The large intestines includes the colon and rectum; they make up the last part of the digestive tract. Now, to break things down a little, the large intestines main job in the body is to absorb water and hold stool, then the rectum connects the colon to the anus, in which the stool passes out of the body through. \n
With this disease, your large intestine lacks cells either in part of it or in all of it and that is what causes constipation. This causes constipation because the nerves inside the large intestine signal the muscles and tell them to push the stool towards the anus, so without the nerves there to give the muscles a signal, the stool will just sit there inside the large intestine. And the amount of cells someone lacks determines how much of their large intestine is affected. The pictures on the slide are of the different severities of it. The first picture shows what a healthy colon looks like, with nerve cells all throughout the intestine. The picture in the middle is ‘Short-segment HD’ which means that it’s only the last part of the large intestine that is lacking cells. And the last picture shows ‘long-segment HD’ which is where there’s a few cells but it’s missing basically all the nerve cells in the large intestine and sometimes part of the small intestine. Now, in a person who has Hirschprung’s Disease, their stool moves through their large intestine until it reaches the part that is lacking cells and when it gets there, it moves really slow and sometimes even stops, which will cause intestinal obstruction. \n
Before birth, a child’s nerve cells grow along the intestines typically in the direction of the anus, but with HD, the nerve cells stop growing too soon before that. It is unclear why the cells stop growing, but this disease is inherited, meaning it’s passed from parent to child through genes but cannot be caused by anything a mother does while pregnant. \n\n
Two of the main symptoms of HD are constipation and intestinal obstruction, and both of them usually appear shortly after birth. Constipation is mostly common with infants and older children, and it usually just comes and goes. \n
Some specific symptoms for newborn babies are: \n-failing with having their first bowel movement\n-having green or brown vomit\n-explosive diarrhea after the doctor inserts a finger into the rectum, which can also result in bloody diarrhea \n- the swelling of their stomach, or abdomen\n-And lots of gas\n
Some symptoms of toddlers and older children include symptoms from newborns, but also: \n\n-them not being able to “go” without taking some kind of laxatives or enemas, which is a procedure where a liquid or gas is injected into the rectum to get rid of everything inside\n\n-having slow growth or development with their bodies\n\n-and lacking energy because of a shortage of red blood cells, which is called anemia \n
HD is normally diagnosed based on symptoms and test results.\nWhat would happen is, a doctor would perform a physical exam on the patient and then ask their parents questions about their child’s bowel movements. If HD is suspected, the doctor will do a few more tests. The different kinds of tests they do on patients are x-rays, a manometry, or a biopsy.\n\n
Now, Everyone obviously knows what an x-ray is, it’s an electromagnetic radiation of high energy that is able to pass through many materials that you can’t normally see with light OR in simpler terms, it’s a black-and-white picture of the inside of the body.\nTo make the large intestine more visible for the doctor in the x-ray, the doctor will fill the patient with something called barium liquid, which gets inserted into the anus for the large intestine.\nWhen you go to the doctor and they believe that HD is the problem, it’s possibly because the last segment of your large intestine will look narrower than normal. Just before this narrow segment, the intestine will look bulged and the bulging is caused by blocked stool that stretches the intestine. \n\n
Manometry is another test they normally do just on teenagers and adults. This is another one of the ways they diagnose HD. During this test, the doctor inflates a small balloon inside the rectum. If all is normal, the rectal muscles will relax but, if the muscles don’t relax, HD may be the problem. \n\n\n
And the last test is called a biopsy. This test is usually the most accurate test when testing someone for Hirschsprung’s Disease. When you have a biopsy done, the doctor removes a tiny piece of the large intestine, but in this picture it shows the liver instead, and they look at it with a microscope. When they look at it, if nerve cells are missing, Hirschsprung’s Disease is definitely the problem. \n
There are two different kinds of treatments for this disease and one of them is the pull-through procedure. This procedure is normally done right after someone is diagnosed. For this procedure, they remove the diseased segment that has no nerve cells and attach a healthy segment to that same part of the remaining rectum. \n
After the pull-through procedure, most children are able to go to the bathroom normally, but they may have diarrhea for a while after. Some infants and toddlers may get a diaper rash from it, but you can always treat that with diaper creams. Over time, children will go to the bathroom less often because the stool inside them becomes more solid. Children must learn to use their muscles properly after they have surgery or for some children, toilet training may take longer, but they will learn to have better bowel control as they grow. \n\n
An ostomy allows stool to leave the body through an opening in the abdomen. Although most children with HD do not need an ostomy, a child who has been very sick from HD may need an ostomy to get better before the pull-through procedure.\nWith ostomy surgery, the diseased segment of the large intestine will be removed and then the new end of it gets folded back on itself and stitched to the abdominal wall. And that little ball that it creates is called a stoma. After the stoma is created, there is a whole in the abdomen where an ostomy pouch gets attached to the stoma and the pouch is worn to collect the stool and any other waste from the body. The pouch then usually needs to be emptied several times a day. \n\n
Infants will feel better after ostomy surgery because they will be able to easily pass gas and stool.\nAfter this surgery infants will feel much better and be able to go to the bathroom easier. \nOlder children will also feel better, but they might have a hard time adjusting to living with an ostomy. They’ll have to learn to take care of it themselves and how to change it. Children with ostomies can learn to live normal lives though, they just may feel uncomfortable being different from all of their friends. But they learn to live with it and it basically becomes a part of their life. \n
After the pull-through procedure, children with long segment HD have to drink more liquids because their intestine is now shorter and it’s harder for it to absorb fluids like it used to. So drinking more often, makes up for that loss. Many infants need feeding tubes for a while, also. The feeding tube gets passed through the nose or an incision in the abdomen. The feeding tube allows the instant formula or milk that they need to be pumped right into their stomach. \nThe eating habits of children may also have to change a little. They’ll need to eat more high-fiber foods because that can reduce constipation and diarrhea. Fiber will help form stool, making bowel movements easier. Some high-fiber foods include, whole-grain breads, vegetables, and fruits. \n\n\n
People with HD can suffer from an infection of the intestines, called enterocolitis, before or after surgery. Some of the symptoms from this include: fever, swollen abdomen, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding from the rectum, and lack of energy. \n\n
These are just a few facts about Hirschsprung’s Disease that I haven’t really mentioned yet... The cause of it is unclear and it is not caused by anything a mother did while pregnant. If a family has a child with the disease, there’s a 3-12% chance that another baby will be born with it. It occurs in 1 out of every 5,000 births, and it causes 25% of intestinal obstructions that occur in newborns. \n\n\n
Now we’re going to go over the answers to the true and false questions and see how many you got right... \n
So, when I started this project, it all originated around The-Make-A-Wish Foundation. When I started researching and working with the foundation, they gave me a wish child and her name is Raven. She was born with Hirschsprung’s Disease, and I’ll get into her a little later, but now, I am going to tell you guys about the Make-A-Wish Foundation. \n
(read the slide) The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a world-wide foundation that helps out families with diseased or sick children. They grant the child’s top wish which helps out the mood of the family going through hard times because it adds joy to their child’s life, and every parent wants to see their child happy. \n\n
So, The Make-A-Wish Foundation goes back to the year 1980 and was started with a 7 year old boy named, Chris Greicius. At the time, Chris was being treated with Leukemia and everyday he dreamed of becoming a police officer. \n
What happened was... A U.S. Customs Officer had befriended Chris and his mom and decided to take on Chris’ wish and make it happen, before it was too late. The officer had promised that he would take Chris on a ride in a police helicopter. But when Chris started to get really sick, the officer contacted a Public Safety Officer from Arizona and together they planned a day to surprise Chris and lift his mood a little bit. Then on April 29, of that year the officer brought Chris on a tour of the whole city in a department helicopter and that flew them to headquarters and they made Chris his very own, personal uniform. They gave Chris the uniform on May 1st and then on May 2nd, Chris was brought back to the hospital. The next day Chris passed away happy, knowing his wish came true. \n
After seeing how happy all of this made Chris they thought, why not do this for other children too?! The two men on both sides are two Arizona officers that attended Chris’ funeral and the woman is Chris’ mother, Linda. These three people proposed the wish to the others to help Chris’ wish happen and that was it. The Chris Greicius Make-A-Wish Memorial; that later became known as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, was created. \n
I chose this quote because it basically sums up how the whole granting wishes process really works and what it does for the children. \n
There’s a whole process for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and children that get involved: \nStep 1 is referral:\nThe only people who can refer children to the foundation are medical professionals, parents, and children with diseases themselves; and children between the age of two and a half and eighteen at the time of referral and have not been granted a wish from any other organization are eligible for a wish. \n\nStep 2: Medical eligibility:\nwhere the child’s doctor helps determine their medical eligibility, and to receive any kind of wish the child must be diagnosed with either a malignant condition, which is life-threatening or a progressive, degenerative condition, which is. And this is mistaken by many people all the time, but the condition of the child does not have to be terminal at all for them to be eligible. \n\nStep 3: Finding the true wish:\nwhich is where they send one of their wish teams to simply ask the child, “If you could have one wish, what would it be?”\n\nStep 4: Creating joy\nAfter everything they’ve done for the children they like to think that they made a big impact in the child’s life and that it was an unforgettable experience. and I quote from the foundation itself: “It’s an incredible experience that enriches not just the lives of the children and their families, but often an entire community.”\n
What can a child wish for?\nMost of the wish requests that the Make-A-Wish Foundation receives fall into these four categories...I wish to go...Some kids wish to go to some place that they’ve never been before, like disney world and hawaii, those are the two most popular places. I wish to be...everyone has wanted to be some kind of profession as a child, like a police officer, a firefighter, etc. I wish to meet...maybe their favorite athlete, singer, movie star or someone else. and the last category is- I wish to have... for this category, most kids wish for some kind of special gift, as in a computer, a tree house, a shopping spree with a certain amount of money, or something that they’ve dreamed of having. \n
These are two of the most frequently asked questions about the Make-A-Wish Foundation...\n- Does the family have to pay for the wish?\n*the answer is no. all of the expenses for the wish are fully covered by the Make-A-Wish foundation and any sponsors, including travel money and just spending money for wherever they go. They take care of all of the expenses for the family because the point of the whole foundation is to give the children a memorable moment that they’ll remember, that can take their mind off of things and so their family doesn’t have to worry about any money issues that may concern it. \n\n- How much does granting a wish cost?\n*the average cost of a wish varies depending on what it is, but as of March 2010, the average has been $7,205. \n
These are some ways that you can help out the foundation. You can just make a general donation, they have a page that looks like this and you can just donate your money, any amount right then, or you can sign up for a monthly giving, where it will just take whatever amount of money you save you want to give per month\n\nThen there’s e-cards and certificates, like they have here. and when you select an e-card, a screen comes up and it will say donation amount and you just click whatever amount of money you want to give, like 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. \n\nThey also have volunteering your time and talent, where they can use anyone that can help them out with different events they set up for, office help, language interpreters, professional services and many more. and to sign up for things, you just check the different boxes where you would fit the criteria for it and would be able to do.\n\nThe next one is adopting a wish, which is where you can just be supportive and help a child’s wish come true by helping raise money for them. \n\nand the last one is shopping to help. They have an online store with so many different merchandise, that goes from clothing to magnets for your car. and by buying things from their store, that also contributes to helping others grant wishes of children. \n
These are some ways that you can help out the foundation. You can just make a general donation, they have a page that looks like this and you can just donate your money, any amount right then, or you can sign up for a monthly giving, where it will just take whatever amount of money you save you want to give per month\n\nThen there’s e-cards and certificates, like they have here. and when you select an e-card, a screen comes up and it will say donation amount and you just click whatever amount of money you want to give, like 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. \n\nThey also have volunteering your time and talent, where they can use anyone that can help them out with different events they set up for, office help, language interpreters, professional services and many more. and to sign up for things, you just check the different boxes where you would fit the criteria for it and would be able to do.\n\nThe next one is adopting a wish, which is where you can just be supportive and help a child’s wish come true by helping raise money for them. \n\nand the last one is shopping to help. They have an online store with so many different merchandise, that goes from clothing to magnets for your car. and by buying things from their store, that also contributes to helping others grant wishes of children. \n
These are some ways that you can help out the foundation. You can just make a general donation, they have a page that looks like this and you can just donate your money, any amount right then, or you can sign up for a monthly giving, where it will just take whatever amount of money you save you want to give per month\n\nThen there’s e-cards and certificates, like they have here. and when you select an e-card, a screen comes up and it will say donation amount and you just click whatever amount of money you want to give, like 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. \n\nThey also have volunteering your time and talent, where they can use anyone that can help them out with different events they set up for, office help, language interpreters, professional services and many more. and to sign up for things, you just check the different boxes where you would fit the criteria for it and would be able to do.\n\nThe next one is adopting a wish, which is where you can just be supportive and help a child’s wish come true by helping raise money for them. \n\nand the last one is shopping to help. They have an online store with so many different merchandise, that goes from clothing to magnets for your car. and by buying things from their store, that also contributes to helping others grant wishes of children. \n
These are some ways that you can help out the foundation. You can just make a general donation, they have a page that looks like this and you can just donate your money, any amount right then, or you can sign up for a monthly giving, where it will just take whatever amount of money you save you want to give per month\n\nThen there’s e-cards and certificates, like they have here. and when you select an e-card, a screen comes up and it will say donation amount and you just click whatever amount of money you want to give, like 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. \n\nThey also have volunteering your time and talent, where they can use anyone that can help them out with different events they set up for, office help, language interpreters, professional services and many more. and to sign up for things, you just check the different boxes where you would fit the criteria for it and would be able to do.\n\nThe next one is adopting a wish, which is where you can just be supportive and help a child’s wish come true by helping raise money for them. \n\nand the last one is shopping to help. They have an online store with so many different merchandise, that goes from clothing to magnets for your car. and by buying things from their store, that also contributes to helping others grant wishes of children. \n
These are some ways that you can help out the foundation. You can just make a general donation, they have a page that looks like this and you can just donate your money, any amount right then, or you can sign up for a monthly giving, where it will just take whatever amount of money you save you want to give per month\n\nThen there’s e-cards and certificates, like they have here. and when you select an e-card, a screen comes up and it will say donation amount and you just click whatever amount of money you want to give, like 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. \n\nThey also have volunteering your time and talent, where they can use anyone that can help them out with different events they set up for, office help, language interpreters, professional services and many more. and to sign up for things, you just check the different boxes where you would fit the criteria for it and would be able to do.\n\nThe next one is adopting a wish, which is where you can just be supportive and help a child’s wish come true by helping raise money for them. \n\nand the last one is shopping to help. They have an online store with so many different merchandise, that goes from clothing to magnets for your car. and by buying things from their store, that also contributes to helping others grant wishes of children. \n
These are some ways that you can help out the foundation. You can just make a general donation, they have a page that looks like this and you can just donate your money, any amount right then, or you can sign up for a monthly giving, where it will just take whatever amount of money you save you want to give per month\n\nThen there’s e-cards and certificates, like they have here. and when you select an e-card, a screen comes up and it will say donation amount and you just click whatever amount of money you want to give, like 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. \n\nThey also have volunteering your time and talent, where they can use anyone that can help them out with different events they set up for, office help, language interpreters, professional services and many more. and to sign up for things, you just check the different boxes where you would fit the criteria for it and would be able to do.\n\nThe next one is adopting a wish, which is where you can just be supportive and help a child’s wish come true by helping raise money for them. \n\nand the last one is shopping to help. They have an online store with so many different merchandise, that goes from clothing to magnets for your car. and by buying things from their store, that also contributes to helping others grant wishes of children. \n
These are some ways that you can help out the foundation. You can just make a general donation, they have a page that looks like this and you can just donate your money, any amount right then, or you can sign up for a monthly giving, where it will just take whatever amount of money you save you want to give per month\n\nThen there’s e-cards and certificates, like they have here. and when you select an e-card, a screen comes up and it will say donation amount and you just click whatever amount of money you want to give, like 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. \n\nThey also have volunteering your time and talent, where they can use anyone that can help them out with different events they set up for, office help, language interpreters, professional services and many more. and to sign up for things, you just check the different boxes where you would fit the criteria for it and would be able to do.\n\nThe next one is adopting a wish, which is where you can just be supportive and help a child’s wish come true by helping raise money for them. \n\nand the last one is shopping to help. They have an online store with so many different merchandise, that goes from clothing to magnets for your car. and by buying things from their store, that also contributes to helping others grant wishes of children. \n
These are some ways that you can help out the foundation. You can just make a general donation, they have a page that looks like this and you can just donate your money, any amount right then, or you can sign up for a monthly giving, where it will just take whatever amount of money you save you want to give per month\n\nThen there’s e-cards and certificates, like they have here. and when you select an e-card, a screen comes up and it will say donation amount and you just click whatever amount of money you want to give, like 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. \n\nThey also have volunteering your time and talent, where they can use anyone that can help them out with different events they set up for, office help, language interpreters, professional services and many more. and to sign up for things, you just check the different boxes where you would fit the criteria for it and would be able to do.\n\nThe next one is adopting a wish, which is where you can just be supportive and help a child’s wish come true by helping raise money for them. \n\nand the last one is shopping to help. They have an online store with so many different merchandise, that goes from clothing to magnets for your car. and by buying things from their store, that also contributes to helping others grant wishes of children. \n
These are some ways that you can help out the foundation. You can just make a general donation, they have a page that looks like this and you can just donate your money, any amount right then, or you can sign up for a monthly giving, where it will just take whatever amount of money you save you want to give per month\n\nThen there’s e-cards and certificates, like they have here. and when you select an e-card, a screen comes up and it will say donation amount and you just click whatever amount of money you want to give, like 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. \n\nThey also have volunteering your time and talent, where they can use anyone that can help them out with different events they set up for, office help, language interpreters, professional services and many more. and to sign up for things, you just check the different boxes where you would fit the criteria for it and would be able to do.\n\nThe next one is adopting a wish, which is where you can just be supportive and help a child’s wish come true by helping raise money for them. \n\nand the last one is shopping to help. They have an online store with so many different merchandise, that goes from clothing to magnets for your car. and by buying things from their store, that also contributes to helping others grant wishes of children. \n
These are some ways that you can help out the foundation. You can just make a general donation, they have a page that looks like this and you can just donate your money, any amount right then, or you can sign up for a monthly giving, where it will just take whatever amount of money you save you want to give per month\n\nThen there’s e-cards and certificates, like they have here. and when you select an e-card, a screen comes up and it will say donation amount and you just click whatever amount of money you want to give, like 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. \n\nThey also have volunteering your time and talent, where they can use anyone that can help them out with different events they set up for, office help, language interpreters, professional services and many more. and to sign up for things, you just check the different boxes where you would fit the criteria for it and would be able to do.\n\nThe next one is adopting a wish, which is where you can just be supportive and help a child’s wish come true by helping raise money for them. \n\nand the last one is shopping to help. They have an online store with so many different merchandise, that goes from clothing to magnets for your car. and by buying things from their store, that also contributes to helping others grant wishes of children. \n
The Adopt-A-Wish program is a national program that anyone can be involved with. A member of the staff from the Make-A-Wish Foundation directly helps you find a wish to help grant. When someone volunteers to raise money and donate it to a certain child, the money that person raises goes to that child and their family along with any money the Make-A-Wish Foundation helps donate as well. For example if a child wants to go on a $1000 shopping spree, if whoever helps donate is only able to raise lets say $500, the Make-A-Wish foundation will write the child a check for the other $500. By being involved with something like this, I think that it can really- not exactly teach, but show a person a lot about life and helping another family out. It’s an amazing thing that so many people around the world get involved with and it not only affects the child’s life, but also yours. And this is exactly what I did... \n
For my application, I adopted the wish of a child for my project, she is a four year old girl named Raven, and she was diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease as a baby and her wish is to obviously go to Disney World. She’s been doing really good, health-wise, for a while, until recently she’s been in the hospital because she’s so sick, so unfortunately I was never actually able to meet her and her parents. She’s gone through almost everything that I’ve talked about, dealing with the disease. But even though she’s dealing with this terrible sickness, she is still a normal little girl. Her favorite colors are blue and pink, she plays with dolls, she loves Hannah Montana and Dora, and surprisingly, she likes watching basketball. \n
Then, for the first part of my application, I sold these Make-A-Wish bracelets to raise money for Raven’s trip to Disney World, but clearly I didn’t raise all the money her and her family would need to get there but like I said the foundation gives the rest of it to them along with the money I raised. I was just happy that I got to help out with it. And the amount of money I raised was, $316. I sold the bracelets around school and hung up some flyers, also to advertise them. Another way to help get them out there and to sell them more was to sell them at my mom’s work. My mom works in an office, and she has patients come in all the time. So I made a little flyer telling about my project and my bracelets and sold them there also. \n
For the second part of my application, I had a little forum/game night with one of the youth groups at my church. I did it with 5th and 6th graders, and surprisingly they listened very well and asked really good questions. I have never actually taken over the whole youth group, so I kind of just tried to set it up and work it in my own way. When they first got there, we started out by just playing two games juts to get them going, then we went back inside and they all sat down and talked and I told them about what I was doing and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I had only really planned on talking for like 15 minutes about it, but they all kept asking questions and got really into it that I ended up talking for a half hour instead. And a good number of them actually knew what the foundation did and what it was about. and then we kind of just discussed that the rest of the time and we talked a little more about it and I explained to them how I helped grant Raven’s wish. And then when I was done, it was already time for them to go home. So, I’d say that overall the whole thing went very well. \n
Now, for my class activity, we are going to make cards for Raven. Just remember that she is in the hospital right now, so you can write whatever you want to her, but keep it appropriate. I have paper you guys can use and colored pencils and markers. \n
After researching all about the Make-A-Wish Foundation and how great it was with helping out children and families, I decided that it would be great to actually talk to someone who was involved with it and have them tell me about their experience with it. So, I interviewed Mr. Lindsay’s cousins because their daughter, Taylor, had her wish granted. She is an 11 year old girl who was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor and had emergency surgery. Thankfully the whole tumor was able to be removed, but with the kind of brain tumor she had, you are never actually able to be declared cancer free and if it were to come back, it would come back 4 times as fast as a normal cancer would. But fortunately she was able to go to Maui, Hawaii and have her wish granted. I talked to her parents and asked them a few questions about how the Make-A-Wish Foundation helped and they told me that it was such a blessing because all through her surgery’s and injections, Taylor had something to look forward to in the end. Her mom said that being able to see Taylor live her dream was amazing and they thank the foundation for letting her be able to do that. \n\n\n
This is my works cited for all my research. The first three websites helped me the most with my project because they had almost everything I needed for my research on Hirschsprung’s Disease and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The first website helped me a lot with the research I needed for the disease because it had almost everything and the second website was about a lady with a child who had Hirschsprung’s disease and wrote a book called Hirschsprung’s Disease Solving the Puzzle. Her book and website helped a lot because it let me actually read and experience what it was like for her to deal with it and then the third one is the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s website. That helped me the most with my project because it was their actual website which had almost everything about the foundation on it. \n
and this is my works cited for all of my pictures. \n
and this is the rest\n
From doing this project, I have learned so much, it’s ridiculous. I’ve learned all about a disease that I have never even heard of before. I’ve learned so much about the Make-A-Wish Foundation and how amazing they are in everything they do for children around the world and I enjoyed every moment of working with it. I thank them for letting me join and raise money for Raven and her family, and like this quote explains, when I think back on everything now, I feel amazing because I know that I got to help a little girl’s wish come true. (:\n
