Beyond The Wish: Carly
Thirty-five years post diagnosis of a rare cancer, wish alumni Carly, and her mum Myra, both acknowledge Make-A-Wish for positively impacting their lives
As we celebrate 40 years of making wishes come true, we’re sharing some of the heart-warming stories that remind us of what's possible through the power of imagination, highlight the invaluable connection of community, and showcase the lasting impact of a wish. ⭐
Carly defies the odds
When a paediatrician told Myra that her daughter, Carly would not be alive next Christmas, she refused to believe him for even a second. She told the doctor that Carly had "more in her than you think" and took her daughter home, where she survived past Christmas time.
Myra was right. Carly defied the odds after her 1990 diagnosis of stage 4 rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer.
While she had setbacks, two years of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiotherapy cured Carly’s cancer.
In the weeks leading up to the diagnosis, Myra became concerned when Carly would wake up in pain at night. Then she would start falling over for no apparent reason.
Myra still remembers the date – January 26, 1990 - when oncology specialists told her that Carly, then 5 years old, had rhabdomyosarcoma.
“The cancer had started in the middle ear and grown out along the ear canal. It had spread through all of Carly’s lungs,” Myra said. “They didn't give us great options or a lot of hope for her.”
There is never a good time to receive a cancer diagnosis, but for Myra, the timing was particularly bad. She had a 9-week-old baby, was building a new house, and had just started a business with her husband.
“My husband and I just pulled together,” Myra said.
“I did go into shock. The next morning, I fainted. It was quite traumatic... It was just something you never expect to hear for a child of that age... There was a lot of crying most mornings. I cried my eyes out in the shower but then I put my big girl pants on and got on with it because you have no alternative."
Excitement over Wish Anticipation
Carly experienced the highs and lows of spending weeks and months in hospital wards for children with cancer. She missed her family and her friends, who were all just starting school.
“I just wanted to be with my kid girlfriends and go to a birthday party,” said Carly. “That happens in Grade Prep the whole year round. You look after each other by going to their birthday, buying them a little gift, and putting on a pretty little party dress. [But] I didn’t get to do much of that. Instead, I was in bed with my PJs on.”
Carly made her own fun in the hospital wards. She would listen to music on her Walkman, watch TV and videos, and skate around the hospital holding onto her IV pole.
What gave Carly (and other kids in the hospital) hope, was Make-A-Wish.
“Wishes were the talk of the hospital ward,” Myra said. “All the children talked about was if they were going to have a wish, what they were going to wish for, and how long before the wish would happen."
A wish was a build-up for them all, and it gave them hope and something to look forward to.
Myra, Carly's mum
A wish come true
Carly didn’t hesitate when asked by the Make-A-Wish volunteers, what she wanted to do for her wish.
“Gold Coast,” Carly said, confidently.
Carly loved the idea of seeing dolphins and other animals at Sea World, while Dreamworld had the hair-raising rides she was seeking.
“Movie World appealed because we were big TV watchers: The Flintstones, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Tweety Bird,” Carly said.
But before Carly, her three brothers, and her parents boarded their flight to the Gold Coast, Make-A-Wish had an extra surprise for the family: attending the iconic Channel 9 show, 'Hey Hey It’s Saturday'.
“Meeting Daryl Somers was truly amazing,” Carly said. “We were such big fans of 'Hey Hey It’s Saturday' and getting to meet some of the faces from the show, not just Daryl, was great... He answered any questions I had. I could have stood there and asked him 50 questions and he would have answered them all.”
Myra said that taking the whole family to the Gold Coast was something she could not have done without Make-A-Wish. The wish, she said, boosted Carly’s confidence and made her “extremely happy”.
It was like after all that sadness and hard work, we got this exciting adventure at the end of it. It was just so rewarding.
Myra, Carly's mum
Wish mum joins Wish Force
The wish also lit a fire in Myra, who decided to become a Make-A-Wish volunteer.
Carly’s wish was organised by the Wangaratta Branch of Make-A-Wish, as there was no Branch in her hometown of Shepparton. So Myra got a story in the local paper, called a public meeting, and within no time, a Goulburn Valley Branch of Make-A-Wish was formed.
Over 21 years, Myra was President of the Branch and at other times, Wish Granting Coordinator.
“Carly’s wish did inspire me to get involved,” Myra said. “I had many favourite wishes... There was a little girl from Shepparton, who wanted to meet Hercules. She got to fly to New Zealand* in 1998 and meet Hercules (played by actor Kevin Sorbo). There’s a gorgeous photo of this little girl being lifted up by Hercules. That was one of the most exciting wishes to organise.”
Carly's life today
In 2025, Carly turns 41. She works full-time, enjoys overseas travel, and spending time with her girlfriends. But her childhood cancer has been an unwanted passenger in her life journey. She was told it was possible she would have other cancers as she got older – and she has.
Carly has had significant skin cancers and battled thyroid cancer in 2016. She has no hearing in her right ear and only partial hearing in her left. Carly has eight tablets a day, plus a growth hormone injection.
However, ever-smiling Carly is very much a positive person. She draws on childhood experiences for inspiration. Like when her auntie insisted she take part in her wedding even though Carly had next to no hair left after chemotherapy. And then there’s the memories of her wish that drive Carly today.
“I think if I had not had that (wish) experience, we would have just gone back to mundane life,” Carly said. “I wouldn’t have potentially had that positive drive all the time. It’s become part of wanting to have happiness in my life."
The wish has helped me become the person I am today.
Carly, wish alumni
*Please note: Make-A-Wish Australia stopped granting overseas travel wishes in 2015.
