A Texas mother-daughter duo was honored by three former presidents this month, becoming 2023 Points of Light Award honorees for their fierce dedication and advocacy for children with pediatric pancreatitis.
The little-known disease struck Rebecca Taylor when she was just 7-years-old, causing excruciating pain. Now 21, Rebecca was chosen for the award because of the work with her mom, Christyn, on their nonprofit Rebecca’s Wish.
When Rebecca was 12, the Make A Wish Foundation granted her selfless wish to form a group to help other children dealing with pediatric pancreatitis.
Their national organization has raised over $3 million to support families whose children have the disease, to advance cutting-edge medical research, and to fund fellowships that train doctors to treat such patients.
“I wanted to start a pancreatic charity for other children so they don’t suffer like I did,” Rebecca said. “Rebecca’s Wish not only gives me a way to help others; it also helps me focus on something greater than myself and that—surprisingly—has helped my own pain.”
And the young woman has defied all the odds since doctors told the family that she wasn’t expected to live past the age of 12. She’s been hospitalized throughout 150 surgeries, including a life-saving experimental pancreas transplant—and nearly died multiple times.
Today, Rebecca is a biomedical engineering student at Texas A&M University working on medical research and treatment options for the disease, which is estimated to affect 3-13 children in every 100,000 kids.
Three former presidents—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama—still serve as co-chairs of the Points of Light Award, created by an even earlier president, George H. W. Bush.
“Great purpose can evolve from great adversity,” said Rebecca’s mom Christyn Taylor, President of Rebecca’s Wish. “As a mom, I would never have chosen this for my daughter but we now get the privilege to help thousands, if not tens of thousands, of children so they don’t have to walk the difficult journey we did.”
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“We can do so much good, and help so many because we’ve lived this,” she told GNN.
Christyn also leads Rebecca’s Wish programs that provide medical grants and supportive care to thousands of patients and their families through travel reimbursements to and from hospitals, developing medical equipment that better fits children, and sending kids to a summer camp called Camp Hope.
“We had very little hope for this disease path when Rebecca was diagnosed,” said Christyn. “We went from hospital to hospital and nobody knew how to help a child with long-term pancreatitis. We do not want another child or family to have to go through what we went through in our long journey.”
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“I’m really proud of what my mom and I have created—and I’ll work on this until the day I die,” said Rebecca, who invites you to learn more on their website, RebeccasWish.org.
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