A Playground for Jillian

Four-year-old Jillian Cordi of South Farmingdale, NY, got her very own playground courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York and a little help from her community.

Diagnosed with the rare PHACE syndrome, which can cause a combination of hemangiomas, brain malformations, arterial anomalies, cardiac defects, and eye abnormalities, 4-year-old Jillian Cordi of South Farmingdale is the size of a 16-month-old. Because of her small size, Jillian was frequently pushed and tripped over by other children at her local playground, and her only wish was to have a playground of her very own. Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York and a "little" help from Jillian's community, her wish recently came true.

The only obstacle to Jillian's wish was that her family's house lacked a backyard, so a side-yard area would have to be turned over, leveled, and screened off to make it a safe place to play. But her family and the community members and businesses of South Farmingdale rose to the challenge: Together they raised the necessary funds and completed all of the required landscaping, while Make-A-Wish provided a swing bar, playhouse, and fence.