Christy Lam Chit-sum was eight years old when she was diagnosed with a form of soft tissue cancer. The Hongkonger spent 13 months at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin where she underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The drugs for her treatment damaged her liver. Only able to make occasional visits home to her family, Lam was mostly bedridden and in pain from the rhabdomyosarcoma in her left sinus. “My oesophagus hurt a lot and I also suffered nosebleeds,” says Lam, now aged 15 and fully recovered. “I was very weak and could not leave my bed or shower myself. Some days I could not eat at all and had to be fed through a drip,” she says. In the most critical phase of her illness, a few weeks after being admitted to hospital, her weight dropped to just 17kg (37.5 pounds). Staying positive during her time in hospital was difficult, even with her mother, Jackey, by her side. Jackey left her job to spend time with her daughter during her treatment and recovery. Christy was tired and bored. Watching the Winter Olympics, which in 2014 was held in the Russian city of Sochi , helped her escape her reality. Cartoon series such as that featuring the Japanese robot cat Doraemon also kept her spirits up. But it was a conversation with a hospital social worker about the work of Make-A-Wish Hong Kong – a registered charity that grants wishes to children with critical illnesses between the ages of three to 17 – that gave Christy the hope and determination that motivates her to this day. Hong Kong’s seawater is ... really dirty so we need to keep it clean and plastic-free. Hong Kong has a beach for turtles so we need to protect it Christy Lam, cancer survivor Her wish was to watch sea turtles in the wild – the marine creatures had fascinated her since she read the children’s book To the Turtle Kingdom as a four-year-old. “I would also watch National Geographic documentaries on turtles,” she says. “When I found out that I might be able to see turtles in the wild, it gave me hope – it made me persevere.” In 2016, her wish came true when she travelled with her parents and older sister to the Australian state of Queensland to watch turtles hatch. “We went to a place called Bundaberg and at night watched the turtles hatch and make their journey to the ocean,” says Christy, who says she could relate to the baby turtles’ struggle to survive. “They had to work so hard to crawl out of the nest at night and scurry to the ocean. I was cheering them on all the way. They gave me so much hope … I realised that if they can do it, then I can do it.” When you’ve just beaten cancer and your classmates shun you She keeps 10 live turtles as pets and has made a visit to Hong Kong’s marine theme park, Ocean Park . Since 2000, the park has worked with the city government’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles. In that time it has successfully treated and rehabilitated more than 60 sea turtles, including endangered green turtles and critically endangered hawksbill turtles. Christy’s big dream is to dive with turtles in the Maldives, the nation of islands in the Indian Ocean that is home to five of the seven species of sea turtle. “I want to work as a volunteer to help with turtle conservation,” she says. To prepare for that experience, Christy completed a junior diving course at a diving school in Sai Kung in the New Territories. “There should be more environmental awareness – we should all cut out plastic straws and single-use plastic because they really damage the natural environment . And Hong Kong’s seawater is also really dirty so we need to keep it clean and plastic-free. Hong Kong has a beach for turtles so we need to protect it,” says the teenager, referring to Sham Wan on Lamma Island . Known as Turtle Beach, the area is one of a few nesting grounds in southern China for endangered sea turtles, and is closed to the public between June and October – a measure introduced a decade ago to protect the area from human impact. Christy, who wants to pursue a career as a doctor, specialising in paediatric medicine, says Make-A-Wish helped motivate her. “We believe these wishes have the ability to provide a temporary escape from their illnesses, and can bring hope to both the ‘wish child’ and their families,” says Madeline Kam, executive manager at Make-A-Wish Hong Kong. Why volunteering is so good for your well-being “Wishes can hopefully inspire and encourage these children to face any challenges or difficulties with a positive attitude – an attitude that can play an important role in treating and fighting their illnesses. No matter how bold these wishes may be, Make-A-Wish Hong Kong strives to make every Wish Child’s wish come true.” Kam says the charity accepts wish referrals from doctors, parents/guardians, medical professionals, social workers, volunteers – even the children themselves. She says the duration of a “wish journey” varies from weeks to years. “When the wish journey begins, our wish team visits the child to uncover what the child’s most cherished wish is and designs each journey with the child to create an extraordinary experience,” says Kam. “Wish anticipation builds the excitement and it empowers the child by actively involving them in the creation of their wish. Most importantly, when the wish comes true, the positive impact of a wish lasts long and spreads to everyone involved in the journey.” On July 10, Make-A-Wish Hong Kong holds its flag day, the charity’s largest fundraising event. Volunteers are needed for the event, which Kam says aims to deepen the public’s understanding of the organisation’s mission and services. The charity has set a fundraising target of HK$600,000, which will go directly to granting life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. For details about the charity’s flag day, visit https://makeawish.org.hk/flagday2021/