Gabby’s message of hope for Kiwis

At just 12, this Kiwi teen lost use of her legs. But adversity simply motivates her more, and she urges others to ‘find the positive’, writes

Gabby Wright knows what it’s like to have your life turned upside down in an instant.

The 15-year-old also knows what it’s like to make the best of even the toughest situation. In 2016, sportsmad Gabby suddenly began to lose feeling in her legs one evening. She tried to walk, but collapsed.

Mum Vanessa Wright whisked her off to an accident and emergency clinic, thinking her daughter was suffering a muscle injury after playing in a netball tournament the day before.

Gabby had not long been selected for the Howick-Pakuranga Year 7 representative team in her favourite sport. But the-then 12-year-old wasn’t suffering from a simple sports injury.

She would eventually be diagnosed with transverse myelitis, inflammation of the spinal cord, thought to have been caused by an autoimmune response to a recent cold.

The neurological disorder left Gabby paralysed from the waist down, but it didn’t stop her finding ways to keep doing the things she loved, Wright said.

Gabby turned instead to umpiring junior netball and took up paratennis before switching to pararacing, with a goal of one day representing New Zealand at the Paralympics.

“She always found a way to keep doing what she always did, but in a different way. She focuses on what’s happening at this time, not what’s happened before,” Wright said.

Now the Pakuranga College Year 11 student is drawing on those same reserves of resilience after her longtime dream of visiting Disneyland with her family was put on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Two years ago, Gabby was approached by Make-A-Wish New Zealand, which helps make wishes come true for Kiwi kids with critical illnesses.

Her choice was easy — Gabby and her family had long talked about going to Disneyland, but it was always “forever off”, Gabby said.

“Every kid wants to go to Disneyland, and visit magical lands.”

Foundation chief executive Pam Elgar said when MakeA-Wish

volunteers asked Gabby why Disneyland, she said the prospect of the trip would be extra motivation to keep working on her mobility.

It was that motivation which helped Gabby keep a smile on her face when she was told on March 16 that her trip — she should have been travelling to Los Angeles today — would be postponed until it was safe to travel again. Her wish is among 40 on hold due to Covid-19.

The Ardmore teen doesn’t know how long she’ll have to wait to get to Disneyland.

But she’s okay with that.

“My goal a couple of years ago was that by the time we go to Disneyland I want to be mobile and be able to go on all the rides, and I’m still working on that. This gives me more time, and it just makes me want to work harder.”

Gabby works on her walking using the parallel bars during physio sessions but it’s unknown how much mobility she will continue to regain.

The outcome for every person with transverse myelitis is different, Wright said.

But what the proud mum does know is that her daughter can deal with the challenges ahead — starting with the disappointment of a global health emergency spoiling her longtime wish.

“It’s certainly taught her a lot of resilience.”

Gabby’s reaction was also no surprise to Elgar, and she hoped the teen’s positive attitude — an attribute shared by the many children and families they helped — would give hope to others going through tough times in one of the most challenging periods of New Zealand history.

“[The story] of Make-A-Wish children is about courage and resilience. These kids know what it’s like to be in lockdown . . . stuck in hospital or having childhood activities curtailed. Their parents know what it’s like to get bad news, take a knock and still have to keep doing what they have to do.”

Gabby said her mum had always said it was okay “to visit the places where there’s sadness and worry, but you can’t move in there”.

Her own message to Kiwis going through tough times was to “always try to find the positive”.

“Some days are going to be tough, but we’ve just got to keep

pushing through.”

By the time we go to Disneyland I want to be mobile and be able to go on all the rides. Gabby Wright