Compassion That Cares: Nurses and Wishes
National Nurses Week, celebrated each year around International Nurses Day on May 12th, is a time to recognize the hard work, dedication, and passion of nurses and their contributions to communities and the future of healthcare. As the front line of communication and support, they help people navigate the healthcare system and provide care, comfort, and compassion to patients and their families.
At Make-A-Wish Canada, nurses are vital to our mission of providing children with critical illnesses the opportunity to realize their most heartfelt wish. Every wish begins with a referral, and we rely on caring referral partners across Canada to help us reach our vision of granting a wish to every eligible child. We accept them from parents, children themselves or medical professionals such as nurses. Last year, nurses were behind 25 per cent of all referrals to Make-A-Wish Canada—proof of their deep commitment to the holistic care of their young patients.
“Being able to offer the opportunity of a wish to children enduring such hardships brings such a ray of joy and sunshine, not only to the child, but to us as well. During the difficult days, having the ability to dream about a wish can make all the difference for some of our kids, to actually bring a smile back to their face during treatment. It is such a privilege to be able to work with Make-A-Wish and provide these experiences to our patients,” say Isabelle Sjoberg and Graham Robinson, who are Interlink Nurses at Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO).
Children with critical illnesses endure painful procedures, such as chemotherapy, and experience side effects and complications from treatment. Nurses understand that a wish is not just a “nice to have”— it’s a need to have. They know that emotional well-being is an essential part of a child’s treatment plan.
“I have the privilege of caring for medically complex children and their families. For these children and families, navigating day-to-day life can be lonely, frustrating, emotional, and uncertain. Referring to Make-A-Wish is one way I can help a family create lasting memories together. My hope is for every child with medical complexity and uncertainty to have a wish granted.” – Kim Hogan, complex care nurse practitioner at SickKids and North York General Hospital.
We are deeply grateful for the compassionate, frontline care nurses provide to children and their families every day. Happy International Nurses Week! If you are interested in referring a child for a wish or learning more about the referral process, head over to Referral Process & Eligibility – Make-A-Wish Canada.
