Emma Einhorn, 15, is my cousin Dan and Terese’s oldest. For
so long at family gatherings – of
the group that stayed in or near Milwaukee – my brother was the youngest.
Then came Emma.
Maybe it was that she was so much cuter than Mike, but she
had an instant place in my heart.
There’s a lot kids vying for attention at family gatherings now. For those three years, though, it was just Emma. I loved holding her, playing with her, and watching her grow.
At age 3, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia
and endured two years of chemotherapy. Thankfully, she’s been in full remission
for a decade and is happy, healthy and just completing her freshman year of
high school.
While she was sick, the Einhorn family connected with
Make-A-Wish. Emma knew instantly what her wish would be.
“Disney World was the first thing that came to my mind,” Emma said. “There was no hesitation, only excitement.”
“Disney World was the first thing that came to my mind,” Emma said. “There was no hesitation, only excitement.”
Shortly after completing chemotherapy, Emma and the
family were off to Orlando and Disney World. Emma was excited to see the princesses,
and she was treated like one for the next week. The family stayed at Give Kids The World Village (GKWV), where ice cream is served any time of day and Minnie Mouse
has been known to tuck kids in at night.
At the Disney Parks, a GKWV button provides access to an
alternate entrance so families can enjoy the rides and attractions with minimal
waiting.
“They make it as easy as you can imagine,” Dan said. “It was
an amazing experience for Emma and our family.”
The Einhorn family became supporters and volunteers for Make-A-Wish-Wisconsin.
This year, Dan and Terese were asked if they would be
interested in serving as chairs for Wish Night, Make-A-Wish-Wisconsin’s
signature gala, on April 2. Dan and Terese said yes, and it became something of
a family joke that Emma should host as well. Even though Emma is not one for
the spotlight, this morphed from a joke into a reality and she was poised to be
on stage with her parents kicking off the gala.
“Emma is reserved like me but she loves Make-A-Wish,”
Terese said. “I was so proud of her for doing this.”
Of course, that was before everything changed with the
COVID-19 Pandemic. As a result, Make-A-Wish-Wisconsin elected to transition Wish
Night to a virtual gala. Remarkably, thanks to stellar work by the
Make-A-Wish-Wisconsin team, a beautiful video was produced and the event
managed to raise more than $600,000, not too far from the pre-pandemic goal; if
you’re interested in helping that number grow, you can donate to Make-A-Wish-Wisconsin
here.
So on March 22, Dan, Terese, and Emma were in their
beautiful home, ready to record their big speech.
Anna, Emma’s younger sister, served as director, courtesy
of a camera she received for Christmas. Anna, who has a flair for drama,
relished the opportunity and particularly enjoyed reminding people that she
expected, “quiet on her set.”
The plan called for Emma to kick it off and throw it to
her dad. After Dan completed his portion, it would go back to Terese, then to
Emma and finally Dan would close it out.
Not going to lie; it took more than one take.
Anna had high standards, of course, except for the time a
perfect take was happening and she giggled out of nowhere.
The final clip product, though, is beautiful, and starts
at the 2:00 minute mark at the link below. It’s genuine, real, charming; Emma,
Terese and Dan’s personalities all shine through. Dan also came up with a light
way to end the video that reflects his sense of fashion and his sense of humor.
Today, we are honored to have Emma, Terese and Dan walk us off.
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