My name is Johanna, or Hanna for short.  When I was 7, I got real, real sick and my Mama and Dada took me to the Children's Hospital in Boston. 

My doctors found out that I had a very aggressive and rare form of cancer called Burkitt’s Lymphoma growing all over the inside of my belly.  I almost died, but they saved me!  I had to stay in the hospital all summer long.  My doctors gave me lots of nasty medicine called chemotherapy that made me lose all my hair and made me really sick and weak.  All the people there were very nice to me, even though I was always sick and sometimes sad.  I made a ton of new friends who I still talk to and some are still sick and in the hospital and some have gone up to Heaven.

When I was finished with all my treatments, the
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts sent two girls to visit me at my house; I call them “my angels”.  They asked me: if I could make any wish, what would it be?  I wished for a vacation to Disney World because I have always wanted to see Minnie Mouse and the Princesses.  A couple of weeks later, my wish came true!!  The
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts sent my two angels back to my house to tell me all about the trip they planned for my parents and me!!  They sent a humongous limousine, just for us, to take us to the airport and another
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts lady met us there and gave me a Pluto dog!  We stayed at a really fun and pretty place called Give Kids the World Village and were given our own car to go to Disneyworld!  I went on every ride and got to meet everybody from Disney cartoons and movies!!  I even met all the Princesses and my favorite is Jasmine!  Well, honest – I forgot all about being sick!  I had the best time ever!  When I look at my pictures and autographs, I smile and smile and smile!

Thank you so much
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts,
I love you….!

I love nature and I’m always looking for neat rocks or leaves or flowers or bugs.  One day, when I was playing in my Nana's yard, I found a pretty nutshell that came off of her Black Walnut tree.  The squirrels had eaten away at the green covering and dug inside to the nuts to get the walnut meat out of them – they love them!  I noticed that the shell halves had a beautiful heart-shape in them and it gave me a great idea to make something! 

My Dada and I cleaned the nutshell and melted my crayons to fill the heart shape & drilled a hole in it for a necklace.  I told my Dada & Mama that we should make more, sell them and give the money to the
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts because they need money to grant many, many other very sick children their wishes! 
And, that's how we got started!

I hope you love my Hearts of Hope necklaces! When you wear one, please think about the very sick children who really need our hopes & prayers to get better. Now Hope is in your Heart!

Hope Helped Save Me!

Love,

Johanna