Blooms the Chemist and Make-A-Wish Australia are teaming up to make the wish of a little girl born with Hypoplastic Left Heart syndrome come true when Sydney’s Vivid light show comes to life in the Melbourne suburb of Casey.
Hannah Fennell was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart syndrome with Ayme-Gripp syndrome. A pericardial effusion, which is excess fluid surrounding the heart that can result in stillbirths or difficulties breathing. At the young age of seven, she has already overcome four open-heart surgeries.
“Hannah loves everything with lights,” says her father, Richard Fennell.
“She has a sensory room at school and she adores it. Despite our Sydney trip being put on hold, the volunteers at Make-A-Wish have ensured that there is still that anticipation that the wish will happen by gifting her with toys that light up.”
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, last year that wish had to be postponed.
With the future of Vivid 2021 still unknown, Make-A-Wish took a little bit of Vivid to surprise Hannah with an immersive light display in her very own backyard.
“Our main focus is to not only offer exceptional healthcare services to our customers, but to also support and connect with our community the best we can,” says Andrew Leslie, pharmacist-owner at Blooms The Chemist Casey Central
“We’re already strong advocates and supporters of Make-A-Wish, conducting multiple fundraisers a year, so when we heard about Hannah and her story, we jumped at the opportunity to help make her wish come true.”
In addition to Hannah’s own light show, the Blooms The Chemist network of more than 100 pharmacies across Australia encouraged and invited others to ‘light up’ for Hannah in any way possible.
“We are so blessed to be a part of a wonderful, close-knit community.
“Our local Blooms The Chemist has also sent Hannah a Wish Pack, and when we popped in to thank them, the entire staff had learnt basic sign language so they could communicate with her,” says Mr Fennell.
Sally Bateman, CEO, Make-A-Wish Australia says that being able to help and support Hannah with this wish is “such a privilege”.
“It’s been incredibly humbling for all of us to see that despite the challenging nature of the past year, the community, our volunteers and partners such as Blooms The Chemist have been unwavering in their support of our Wish Kids and helping us to finding new ways to make wishes possible.”
Pamela Bishop, CMO, Blooms The Chemist adds: “It’s wonderful to be a part of a great initiative to see our community pharmacies come together and help light up Hannah’s life.
“This also couldn’t have come at a better time, with us reaching a milestone of raising $1 million thanks to our pharmacies and their work fundraising in their local communities for Make-A-Wish.”
