Make-A-Wish: Steak, the ocean and Sky’s break from hospitals

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - At just 9 years old, Sky Allison’s journey has been anything but ordinary.

Born with a rare congenital condition, Sky’s undergone four major surgeries, faced life-threatening odds, and somehow, through it all, held onto joy.

Sky’s story begins when she was still in the womb.

As an OB nurse, Sky’s mom, Jennifer Allison, had been through her fair share of ultrasounds. When she was 20 weeks pregnant, Jennifer underwent her own ultrasound. Something didn’t look right.

“It was about an hour in when I called my husband and said, ‘There’s something really wrong with our little girl,’” Jennifer said.

Jennifer couldn’t see the typical four-chamber heart on the monitor. What doctors discovered next would change everything.

Sky was diagnosed with right atrial isomerism heterotaxy, a rare syndrome that affects the way the heart and other organs form.

“Sky has a unique set of plumbing in her heart,” Jennifer explained. “She has a long liver that spans her abdomen. She has a tiny right-sided tummy that sits very high. She has three lobes in her lungs ... and she’s missing her spleen.”

At just 7 weeks old, Sky had her first heart surgery. Three more surgeries would follow, including terrifying moments when her survival was uncertain.

“They gave me a 20% chance of survival for her for getting through her first year of life,” Jennifer said.

While most parents pack baby clothes for the hospital, Jennifer packed something else: her used blankets.

“They would smell like me,” she said. “They would smell like home, like our arms. That was something I didn’t know if she was ever going to get to experience.”

Years later, those same blankets came with them on a very different kind of journey: Sky’s Make-A-Wish trip to Hawaii.

“I chose it because I wanted steak on the beach and I wanted to listen to the waves,” Sky said with a smile. “It was really, really fun.”

For Jennifer, the trip was more than just a vacation.

“It wasn’t just about being on the beach,” Jennifer said. “It was about wholeness. It was about, there’s nothing poking out of their sister. She’s not tied to anything, she’s not restrained, you know, to an IV pole.”

The trip gave the family space to simply be and remember what it feels like to live without fear. It also reminded them they are not alone.

“Part of the magic of Make-A-Wish and the Million Mile campaign is the ability to rely on your community to carry you through things and to places where dreams come true,” Jennifer said.

As for her daughter, Jennifer hopes she continues to move through life with the same light that has carried her this far.

“My hope for her is that, no matter what happens head to toe with your amazing, miraculous little body, that you just always remember how profound a gift every moment is ... and learning to carry that light with you wherever you need it.”

Sky’s heart may be unique, but her story is universally powerful and a reminder that even in the face of the unimaginable, love wins.

If you’d like to help make more wishes come true for children facing critical illnesses, consider donating your unused airline miles by clicking here to Make-A-Wish Alaska and help us reach one million miles!

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