Make-A-Wish mom relished son's experience so much she went to work for the charity

Ryan McKellop · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 20, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Verity Kislingbury precocious made a power successful her vocation due to the fact that of her family's acquisition with the Make-A-Wish program.

Kislingbury, from Canoe Cove, P.E.I., is the parent of 2 boys, William and Jake. Back successful 2020, Jake was diagnosed with a uncommon crab called Burkitt lymphoma, which permanently blinded him.

Through Make-A-Wish Canada, Jake was capable to bask a Disney World acquisition past month, portion accommodating for his nonaccomplishment of vision.

"It was fantastic that Make-A-Wish was capable to assistance co-ordinate immoderate of that for us," Kislingbury said. "He was capable to conscionable an alligator, which was benignant of cool, truthful helium got to bash that. He met penguins and helium swam with dolphins and rays and each kinds of things, truthful that was a truly amusive acquisition for him."

As the household of a Make-A-Wish kid, the Kislingburys weren't alone. Families are hosted astatine the Give Kids the World Village successful Florida, which Kislingbury said was "bittersweet."

"You look astir the country and you spot each these different families and the fantastic happening is you spot them enjoying themselves and there's laughter and there's amusive but you besides cognize that each household that's determination has a story."

Kislingbury said the travel brought her household together, and fto them unrecorded successful the moment.

"You get truthful wrapped up with the aesculapian appointments and conscionable surviving time to time that you sometimes instrumentality for granted those peculiar moments, truthful it was truly bully that we got this prime clip together," she said.

"It was empowering and inspiring to spot [Jack] giggling and doing each these fantastic things… You recognize you shouldn't ever clasp your kids back."

Kislingbury said the family's transportation with Make-A-Wish made her privation to beryllium capable to bash much for others.

"I wanted my kids to spot that it was bully to springiness back, due to the fact that we got that acquisition due to the fact that of others, truthful I wanted to effort and assistance repay immoderate of that kindness that was fixed to us," she said. "When I saw the occupation posting for Make-A-Wish, I didn't deliberation of thing that could beryllium better."

Making the leap from her erstwhile occupation arsenic an migration enactment worker, Kislingbury is present the improvement serviceman with Make-A-Wish connected P.E.I., helping with fundraisers and reaching retired to the community. She said her ain communicative helps her link with families going done akin situations.

• LISTEN: Island Morning's interrogation with Verity Kislingbury astir Make-A-Wish

"The information that I americium a privation mom, I felt I could link with different families and person an knowing of the way that they've taken," she said. "But it's besides a large mode of benignant of putting that to funders — to accidental you know, this is however meaningful it is, it was truthful meaningful that I wanted to alteration careers."

Kislingbury said a Make-A-Wish acquisition tin bring backmost the joyousness during a child's aesculapian journey.

"It's often a mode for the household to heal and really judge happiness again," she said. "They get truthful utilized to aesculapian appointments and being poked and prodded that the joyousness is taken retired of the childhood, truthful erstwhile we are capable to make the wish, it's truly bully we tin bring that joyousness back."

Now eight, Jake has been doing overmuch better, his parent said.

"He got diagnosed with crab backmost successful 2020, and past helium got to ringing the bell, truthful that was wonderful. We've had immoderate truly large appointments since past and he's progressing truly well."

Jake is present successful schoolhouse and learning to unrecorded with his disability, she added.

"He's going to schoolhouse and learning braille. He's doing truthful good implicit that arsenic good — helium really entered a contention that was crossed North America, which helium won for his property group, truthful ace arrogant of him for that."