Community & Business
16 September, 2023
Fairy fantasy comes true for little Manny
A SIX-year-old girl from Orange has travelled all the way to Kuranda with her family to live out her dream of being a fairy, thanks to Make-A-Wish Australia.
Savannah, who likes to be referred to as Manny, and her family travelled from the New South Wales city to The Magical Lane where the fairies and butterflies live for a big fairy adventure.
Manny is currently in recovery from Wilms tumour, a rare kidney cancer. When she was undergoing treatments, Manny would let her imagination run wild, fantasising about going on fairy adventures and hoping one day she would be able to go on one of her own.
Manny’s wish began with a series of Wish Anticipation moments where she was sent letters and videos by fairies to complete various tasks to grow her heart wings through kindness, care for nature and dancing and music in preparation for her visit to the secret fairy hideaway at Kuranda.
On the day of her wish, Manny met a real-life fairy who told her enchanting stories of the fairy world and gifted Manny her own fairy wings.
Immersed in the magical atmosphere, Manny drank a special fairy tea while she learnt all about fairy secrets before heading off on her own quest to find fairy dust.
Manny’s mother Marie was overwhelmed by how special Manny’s fairy adventure wish was, and it was the perfect way to celebrate Manny’s resilience and health journey.
"The wish was an emotional time for me. Kids are more resilient, but I was so nostalgic about the whole thing,” she said.
“Manny is still talking about her wish and showing her school friends all the trinkets and fairy dust, she brought home.
“This magical wish experience was for every time she endured an operation or had chemotherapy. This is to say, ‘You did such an amazing job Manny, you deserve this time of complete happiness’,” Marie added.
To find out more about Make-A-Wish Australia and how you can support wish kids like Manny, head to www.makeawish.org.au
