Make-A-Wish Canada had to pause more than 400 wishes due to COVID-19

This photo shows Xander (far left), one of the kids who received a reimagined wish from Make-A-Wish Canada after his initial wish of a roadtrip became impossible due to COVID-19. Xander, pictured here with his brothers, received a backyard makeover with sports equipment instead. (Make-A-Wish Canada)

TORONTO — Wishes are hard to come by during COVID-19, but Make-A-Wish Canada is still trying.

The organization, which grants “wishes” to children who have been diagnosed with critical illnesses, had to make a shift in the spring when COVID-19 hit Canada with full force.

Suddenly, taking children on the trip of their dreams was no longer possible.

In 2019, Make-A-Wish Canada granted more than 1,600 wishes, 70 per cent of which involved air travel, according to the organization. Although the wishes they grant can include physical gifts, experiences and travel are a huge part of the organization’s work.

In March, the organization announced they were postponing wishes relating to travel and wishes that required large gatherings.

“Over 430 wishes have now been postponed until we can grant them safely for wish kids,” the organization told CTV News in an emailed statement.

Despite the postponements, they are still looking to deliver on their promise to grant wishes.

According to Wendy Roberts, a spokesperson with Make-A-Wish Canada, the organization has still granted more than 1,000 wishes in 2020.

“We had to pivot and be creative and [reimagine] wishes to continue with our mission,” she told CTVNews.ca.

“Some wishes are a rush, due to the child’s condition, and we worked closely with these families to grant a wish safely,” she added. “Other kids are choosing to wait to travel once it is safe to do so.”

For kids like Xander, a 15-year-old who went through five months of chemotherapy after he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2019, this meant wishing for a slightly different thing so he could still receive a wish this year.

“When Xander found out he was eligible for a wish, he wanted to travel in an RV across Canada with his family,” the organization said. “When COVID-19 hit, his travel wish was no longer possible.”

Instead of a road trip, Xander -- an avid basketball player -- asked for a backyard makeover with sports equipment as a replacement.

In a video thanking the public for donating to Make-A-Wish Canada, Xander said having a wish “was just a big thing to look forward to when I was going through chemotherapy.

“It kept me going, and it gave me something special to dream about.”

Roberts said they were able to give Xander, whose cancer is now in remission, a new basketball net, ping pong table, lounge furniture and a barbecue. Along with the backyard upgrade, Xander and his brothers also enjoyed an RV campout in their driveway.

At first, the organization was only pausing wishes involving travel and gatherings until December 31, but as COVID-19 still has Canada in its grips, they’ve extended the postponement of those trips until March 31, at which point the organization will assess the situation.

“We are already preparing for the day we can continue to grant the wish of every eligible child and get back to the children who have been waiting because of COVID-19,” Roberts said.

She added that the wishes reimagined and granted this year involved “everything from gaming equipment to room makeovers, and even a wish child giving back to his local hospital, providing tablets and accessories so oncology patients could connect to the outside world.”

The work that Make-A-Wish does is important, Roberts stressed, because it gives children with critical illnesses something to look forward to -- something that is increasingly important during a pandemic that is causing so much isolation and stress.

“Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness,” Roberts said. “Now more than ever, we need to deliver hope to children with critical illnesses.”

Still, those whose wishes are still achievable during a pandemic are having slightly different experiences than usual.

A video posted on the Make-A-Wish Canada website showed the moment that 12-year-old Bethany, who has been diagnosed with a brain tumour, received her wish: a camping trailer.

Her family led her, blindfolded, up to the trailer, which was parked outside her house. A crowd of well-wishers was there, as they would’ve been for a Make-A-Wish moment in any other year, but they were spaced out for social distancing, and many were wearing masks.

In the video, Bethany shared an air high five with a Make-A-Wish worker. Although they couldn’t touch, the sentiment still reached across the two metres between them.