Once upon a time, a happy and healthy little girl named Rebecca was living her childhood dream with her mother, Christyn, her father Brian, and her two adoring brothers, Nicholas and Alexander.
Her dream came to a crashing and life-altering halt on Memorial Day weekend of 2010, when seven-year-old Rebecca was hospitalized for the first days of what would become well over 1,000 days of hospitalization. She had an unknown form of chronic pancreatitis caused from an unknown immunologic condition that precipitated a frantic nationwide search for an unknown cure.
The next few years were agonizing for Rebecca, as she suffered from this excruciatingly painful disease which quickly ravaged her body and put her life at risk. Rebecca’s family's eventually uprooted to Minnesota so that she could receive a life-saving experimental transplant and the removal of five of her organs. She became the first child her age in the state of Texas to survive such a radical procedure.
Despite unwavering pain and her undesired circumstances, Rebecca has learned to live each day, hospital or not, to the absolute fullest. And living “full” for Rebecca means focusing on the joy of helping others, in particular, sick children like herself.
When approached by Make-a-Wish as to what her wish request would be, Rebecca’s answer was not at all surprising to those who knew her. “I want to meet with a medical philanthropist, who can help me start a charity to help kids like me so they don’t have to suffer like I did,” Rebecca said.
The goal of Rebecca’s Wish is to provide hope to children with pancreatitis, a disease that is often misdiagnosed and misunderstood. San Antonio, Texas - and eventually other cities across the nation- will become havens for children worldwide with pancreatic disease where they can finally receive treatment they so desperately need. Inpatient and outpatient care, as well as supportive services and research and development are all foundational tenets of this life-saving charity.
We ask you to join us in honoring the wish of a child by changing the lives of countless others, so they can live a life free of suffering.
About Christyn Taylor
Christyn Taylor is President and co-founder of Rebecca's Wish, a national nonprofit committed to providing hope to children facing pancreatitis. Christyn spearheads all advocacy, engagement, charitable and research efforts for Rebecca’s Wish and in the process has helped thousands of children with the often misunderstood and misdiagnosed disease.
A dedicated thought-leader and expert on the subject of chronic pediatric pancreatitis, Christyn is a highly sought after speaker, advisor, advocate and medical advisor who partners, educates and collaborates with numerous organizations, hospitals and medical schools. She’s authored medical research papers, curricula and books, sits on the Executive Board of Directors for the National Pancreas Foundation and has participated for years on the Friend’s Board of the Ronald McDonald House.
Christyn comes to this work as a mom filled with passion, purpose and personal experiences. Her daughter Rebecca was diagnosed with an unknown form of chronic pancreatitis at the age of 7 that ravaged her body with the excruciatingly painful and life threatening disease. Christyn has fiercely advocated for Rebecca, who has been hospitalized more than 1,500 days over 13 years and had 150 surgeries - but today is a college student pursuing her dreams.
A graduate of Texas A&M University, Christyn resides in San Antonio with her husband and three incredible children.
Message From the Founder, Rebecca Taylor:
"I know what it’s like to be in pain and without hope, and I’m not the only one. If I could take that feeling away from every person in the world, I would. While I don’t have that power, I can help change one life at a time through Rebecca’s Wish. With love and support, suffering children can finally be given a chance at a normal life, one without the hopelessness that pediatric pancreatitis entails. For the first time, some of these children will have someone to relate to, and confidence for the future. Something like that is worth pursuing, and together we can end pancreatitis."
