SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – For decades, Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island has been making dreams come true for sick children and their families, and today, the organization granting one local girl’s wish.

Hope Jerginsen, 9, was born with cystic fibrosis, a rare genetic disease that targets the lungs, pancreas, and other organs.

“It’s nice to see your village. You always hear you have a village but to see and to have them all in one spot,” Sarah Jerginsen, Hope’s mom, told us.

On Saturday – surrounded by her village – a dream came true for the Springfield girl. When asked what she wanted, Hope knew a few things were off the table.

“I didn’t want to travel and mom said no pets!”

So instead, the Make-a-Wish foundation made hope a treehouse to play in with her big sister, Penelope.

“We already have slept in it for two days,” Penelope claimed.

“When you have a child who is living with a chronic illness, it’s really hard to put them out into the world and feel like their life is limited somehow. It’s been really joyful to just see the face light up when it arrives,” Sarah, Hope’s mom said.

“This whole wish process has just been really this beautiful interplay of hope and joy and bravery,” she reflected. “It really does bolster your spirit and allow you to just keep going when it’s hard.”

While Sarah says she didn’t know about Hope’s condition when she named her, in hindsight, she says it’s the perfect name for her brave little girl.

“I named Hope, Hope, even before I knew she had cystic fibrosis and I just think it’s such an appropriate name choice. I think being hopeful is really important when living with a chronic illness and I think the delivery of joy is part of developing that hope muscle and to be hopeful you have to be brave.”

Hope tells us she’s excited for all the memories she’s going to make in her new treehouse with her mom and big sister, Penelope. Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island has granted wishes for more than 10,000 kids since it was founded forty years ago.

Western Mass News is a proud media partner of Make-A-Wish.

Copyright 2024. Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.

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Originally Published: August 31, 2024 at 3:36 p.m.