Before fourteen-year-old Maddy Bankes received her Take A Breather wish, she was starting her freshman year at a new high school. That same year, she was hospitalized at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia five times in the span of six months, causing her to miss over 60 days of school. Maddy described how during that time she would miss important lessons in school, gymnastics classes, and her friends. During one absence, Maddy missed a trip to see a show on Broadway with her classmates. But that’s when Maddy’s CF social worker introduced Maddy to Matt from Take A Breather Foundation. Upon meeting Maddy, Matt asked Maddy what her wish would be; she said that she “wanted to see the show Hamilton more than anything.”
So Take A Breather made it happen. Maddy had a film crew with her to document the experience as she traveled to New York City. There, she stayed in Times Square, and enjoyed the famous musical, Hamilton: An American Story! Maddy’s mother, Theresa, says that Maddy “felt so special…This is a memory she will always have. Seeing her get to watch this show she knows every word to, with music she has listened to on repeat to try to pass the time in the hospital, couldn’t have been a more perfect moment. As her parents sitting in the Hamilton theater watching her get to watch this show was an experience we will never forget… Words cannot express how much this trip has meant to her. It lived up to every high expectation and more. It is hard to believe our family received such an amazing experience.”
