Samantha, 18

“I Wish to Cook in Italy”

Meet Samantha, she is a sweet, kind, and incredibly generous 18-yea- old who is as loyal and thoughtful as she is beautiful. Samantha loves cooking and baking. She enjoys watching Giada Di Laurentiis on the Food Network and making her recipes!

When Samantha was 2-weeks-old, she was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, a rare condition where the bile duct between the liver and the small intestine is blocked or absent. This condition can lead to liver failure. Unfortunately, this was the case for Samantha.

She was just 5 months old during her first liver transplant, and 18 months old for her second. Throughout her life, Samantha has dealt with rejections and transplant issues. She gets her blood drawn frequently and takes anti-rejection medication twice a day. During her second transplant, an issue with the IV resulted in serious injury to her right hand.

Samantha’s medications cause her to have tremors, insomnia and make learning and taking exams very difficult. She also suffers from major allergic reactions. If she ingests nuts, seafood, or chocolate or if there’s mold in the air, she gets an anaphylactic allergic reaction. These issues frustrate her immensely because of her love for learning and gourmet cooking.

Samantha has always wanted to be a chef and frequently makes birthday cakes for all her friends. Because of her food allergies, Samantha cannot be a real chef, so when she was visited Make-A-Wish, she wished to take cooking classes in Italy. This wish was a dream-come-true for her!