Shark wish ignites marine fascination
Her wish to go cage diving with Great White Sharks proved to Natalia that anything is possible.
Volunteer helps Natalia land on shark wish
Natalia’s wish to go cage diving with Great White Sharks was something she could really sink her teeth into.
The wish was sparked by Make-A-Wish volunteer David Ford, an experienced diver.
“When we met David he told us he is a very passionate diver, and then Natalia told him she had a passion for sharks, so that’s where the wish started,” Natalia’s mum Janka said.
Diagnosis just before Christmas
Long before her wish, Natalia was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 2015, aged 3, and had two and half years of chemotherapy.
Natalia’s medical journey was difficult for her. In the first few days she wanted to get out of hospital and go home.
“It was actually five days before Christmas when she was diagnosed. She did not like that Christmas,” Janka said.
I felt exhilarated. It was just amazing watching them swim past
Natalia, wish child
Coming face-to-face with sharks
Janka had known about Make-A-Wish but had put the application form in a drawer until Natalia was a little better and a little older.
In 2021, Janka applied for her big-smiling daughter’s wish.
As Make-A-Wish head office in Melbourne started planning the wish, volunteer David found a marine biologist – which is what Natalia wants to be – to talk to her over Zoom.
In 2023 Natalia’s wish finally came true. She and parents Janka and Callan flew from Brisbane to Adelaide.
The family enjoyed a three-night shark exhibition on a boat organised by Rodney Fox & Mark Tozer’s Marine Conservation and Research Centre.
The highlight was Janka and Natalia dropping down in the shark cage to come face-to-face with Great Whites.
Natalia said she only felt a “little bit scared” for a short time.
“I felt exhilarated. It was just amazing watching them swim past,” she said.
Wish inspires budding marine biologist
Natalia said her interest in sharks grew steadily and she learned a lot from reading books and watching TV shows.
She said sharks played an important role in the health of the entire ocean ecosystem.
“I want to reverse that stereotype that sharks are bad and scary, and then maybe everyone would look at them differently and want to protect them,” Natalia said.
“That’s what I want to do. I want to come back as a marine biologist and work on the Rodney Fox boat.”
Janka said the wish trip, which also included snorkelling with sea lions, was the start of something bigger for Natalia.
“The wish showed Natalia that anything is possible. The wish can help you with your passion and I think that’s what it did for Natalia,” Janka said.
“She’s going to become that marine biologist and make a difference in the lives of not just sharks but humans too.”
