Make A Wish

Frozen character Elsa gave wish child Penelope a head start in finding out she had a tumour.

A week before her first birthday in November 2015, wish parents Bronya and Levi took Penelope to get an X-ray as they suspected she had swallowed the head of a small Elsa figurine.

While the X-ray didn’t show signs of Penelope’s much-loved Elsa, it did show a tumour behind her chest.

“We were all in shock. I went in there for a doll’s head and found out she had that big tumour” Bronya said.

Penelope was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and her tumour considered malignant (or aggressive). Chemotherapy has been planned more than once in the past four years but ultimately specialists decided to leave the tumour alone.

“They are monitoring it” Broyna said.

“It grows and it grows and it’s still malignant, but they can’t remove it because it’s wrapped around too many main arteries and bits and pieces inside.

“It’s not really impacting her as such. It’s more the trauma of going into the hospital for check-ups, that’s really starting to give her anxiety.”

Through wishes, Make-A-Wish® gives kids a distraction from their medical journey, allowing them to feel positive about the future and focused on something they love.