Thirteen-year-old Christos Sainis always wanted to be on a game show - but not as a participant.
He says it all started with his grandmother.
“We started watching this. And since then, I was like, I want to go there and I want to be the host. I have fake cards that I keep that I play with, to act like I’m the host,” he said.
Christos was born with a gastrointestinal disorder. His mom, Marianna Kagelidis, explains it was very difficult when he was younger.
“He needed multiple surgeries. We were in the hospital for a very long time and now he’s 13, going on 14. Everything is going great. You wouldn’t even know he had this issue. Everyone’s happy with his progress.”
During his medical journey, Make-A-Wish-Canada offered Christos and his family a positive distraction of his choice.
Lauren Donnelly, director of the Quebec Chapter of Make-A-Wish-Canada, says, “When families receive a diagnosis of critical illness, so much is taken away from them. Hopes of the future, ideas of what they thought life would be. They’re plummeted into darkness. And we can’t always change the diagnosis, but we can give them something back. And that’s a wish. That’s something to look forward to. That’s positivity, creativity, imagination.”
Kagelidis agrees.
“We weren’t thinking about school, about appointments, hospital, even what he went through. That wasn’t even in the back of our minds,” she said.
Make-A-Wish is marking 40,000 wishes granted since 1983 and there are so many more to go.
Alexis Gaiptman, the vice president of the Quebec chapter, adds, “Every two hours, a child in Canada is diagnosed with a critical illness.”
“Right now, in Quebec, we have over a thousand children whose wishes are currently waiting to be granted. So, we can’t stop. We remain deeply committed to fulfilling these wishes and making a lasting impact for many years ahead.”
Christos says that he was so grateful his wish was granted.
“It was just the best experience of my life,” he said.
