BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — 11-year-old Jaelyn Myers from Bridgeport had her “Make-A-Wish” granted on Sept. 19-23 with a total VIP package trip to Los Angeles from Make-A-Wish® Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Jaelyn Myers was referred by one of her medical professionals for Make-A-Wish before the COVID-19 pandemic, so she had time to think about her wish. At first she wanted to meet her favorite celebrity, Carrie Underwood, but then she decided that she wanted the ultimate red-carpet experience in Hollywood.

On her trip, Myers got to tour Hollywood, had a gown custom-made to wear at her own red-carpet event, had a videography crew following her all day, received her very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and her absolute favorite part. Meeting her fans! She said, “it’s because I got to meet everyone who was actually my fan. That was actually the first time I met someone who actually knew who I was. Before I actually talked, and said my name.”

At a young age, Jaelyn Myers was diagnosed with a nervous system disorder, but she does not let her disorder tear her down. While in an interview with 12 News reporter, Makayla Schindler, Myers showed a few sides of her personality. She brought up a ton of history facts, in which her mother, Beki Myers, had mentioned that she was very intelligent in the history field. The 11-year-old was funny and also inspirational, talking about how she does not want anyone to ever feel like they can not do something.

Within’ the interview, Schindler asked Myers what she would say to all of her fans if she could, she replied with, “if you’re disabled, don’t call it a disability or disabled, call it a “different ability.” Because you can’t not, because you can do anything you want to. You may not be able to do it in the same way that other kids can, however, you can still do it.”

Jaelyn Myers has competed in a variety of pageants throughout West Virginia and has held multiple titles. Now that Jaelyn Myers is home from being famous in Hollywood, she has been asked to be in two separate films. She will start being filmed in a new movie called, “In God’s Hands” on Oct. 14, where she can now be famous in West Virginia too.

Beki and Jason Myers, Jaelyn’s parents, discussed how special the trip truly was for their daughter. They talked highly of the foundation for including her family in on the trip and going above and beyond to make their daughter’s wish, and so much more, come true. They are beyond grateful for the opportunity and will never forget the look on Jaelyn’s face and how for that week, it helped her think of her disability and routine at home a little less.

Her parents also brought of the misconceptions of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Even they had a misconception on thinking that it only provides wishes for dying children. On the contrary, wishes have the power to transform lives by creating an opportunity for hope and the ability to experience life beyond illness. An impact study was completed in 2022 and found that a large majority of Make-A-Wish alumni, parents and medical providers overwhelmingly agreed that the wish experience contributed substantially to physical, mental and emotional health – and improved the odds of survival.

If you are interested in learning how to refer a child, please contact Vanessa Zweig at vzweig@greaterpawv.wish.org or call 304-292-5600.