Summit High School's FROG Week 2012

Guest post by Emily Waneck, Summit High School Pre-AP English 1/English 1teacher and Student Council Sponsor

What is FROG week? FROG week stands for Friends Reaching Out and Giving. Every year, student council along with the entire student body at Summit High School adopt a child from the Make-A-Wish foundation and have one week to raise enough money to grant the child’s wish.

This year, our child’s name is Sienna. She is a 7th grader at a junior high in Arlington and wishes to go to Florida and Disney World. Here is more about our wish child: Sienna, age 13.

When Sienna was born, she only weighed 4 lbs 15oz , and her mother had only gained 9 lbs. during her pregnancy. After Sienna struggled with eating as an infant, her mother took her to the doctor. When they tested her, Sienna's hemoglobin was only at a 6. Sienna remained in the hospital for almost 3 months. She had every test done imaginable including, bone marrow extraction, a sweat test, tests to check for cancer, etc. Finally after two weeks her family was given a tentative diagnosis of MMA (Methylmalonic Acidemia) with Homocystinuria, but by that time all her organs were failing. She was put on a ventilator and they conducted blood exchanges because her red blood cells were fragmenting.

“We were told to call our families as she was not going to make it through the night,” recalls her mother. “I prayed so hard that night asking God to please let her live and I would take her however he wanted to give her to me and I meant it.”

She lived through the night and started improving a little. Although she was improving she was still a very sick little girl. Said her mother, “at the time of diagnosis we were told there were only 19 children with this diagnosis and that several had died.”

 Now at 13, Sienna has lost her vision due to her illness and reads braille.

Because of our love for Sienna and other children in similar situations, the Summit High Student Council and the Make-a-Wish Foundation have teamed up to grant Sienna’s wish of going to Disney World and Florida. However, we need YOUR help to make her wish come true! Monetary donations help most immediately, but service and time donations are also greatly appreciated. Our student council and school will need as many donations as possible to make this wish come true. Our goal is to raise at least $7,000 for our child. Any donation helps in the long run, whether it is 5 cents or 100 dollars. All contributions will be appreciated.
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Read more in the SHS Jagwire student newspaper.
Contact Emily Waneck via email EmilyWaneck [at] misdmail.org.