Beyond The Wish - Jayden

As the Make-A-Wish volunteers sat down with wish child Jayden and his family, the little boy knew exactly what he wanted for his wish.

Someone had mentioned a PlayStation, but Jayden had his heart set on a puppy.

Jayden’s dad Trevor said the puppy they ultimately received, a cavoodle named Coco, was a nice reminder that Jayden’s struggle with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia was behind them.

“The dog was always going to be a way of closing the loop,” Trevor said.

“The type of wish is important; it’s not something fleeting; it’s a living thing that will be with us for a long time, so that makes it more special.

“The anticipation phase of the wish was also good; we had time to think about what he’s been through. And reflect on what it meant to have an organisation think he was that special and deserved a wish.”

Trevor said it meant so much to know that Make-A-Wish, and its donors and supporters, cared for Jayden.

“To think that people out there recognised he had been through a crap time and overcame it. There are people that care,” he said.

“I will never forget what Make-A-Wish has done. Every time I look at Jayden, I can’t believe how lucky we are.

“The wish is everything. It just means everything.”

Jayden’s medical journey started in 2015 at age 2 when he was complaining constantly and saying ‘ouchy’.

After visiting multiple GPs, the recommendation finally was to take Jayden to the hospital for blood tests.

“I thought to myself he won’t get leukaemia as he’s only 2, and you don’t get leukaemia at 2,” Trevor said.

Trevor’s wife and Jayden’s mum, Jenny, was the first to get the confirmed leukaemia diagnosis.

When Trevor found out soon after, his first instinct was that he might lose his son.

“I asked the nurse if we hadn’t gone to the hospital when we did what would have happened, and she said, ‘given the results we saw, he would have lasted another week’,” Trevor said.

And while the diagnosis and the months and months of chemotherapy that followed threw the family’s life upside down, the kindness of Make-A-Wish helped the family through their journey.

Trevor said Coco’s arrival in 2021 was also crucial for Jayden’s older brother Thomas (pictured below).

“I sort of made it that the wish was for both boys, Jayden and Thomas,” Trevor said.

“I wanted them both to experience the impact.

“Thomas is always helping Jayden. Jayden is always looking for Tom. He is a typical big brother, in the most caring and sensitive way possible.”

Trevor said the bond between Jayden and Coco had grown steadily since 2021.

“Jayden has said to me, ‘he makes me happy’. It’s pretty simplistic, but that was always the goal,” Trevor said.