Granted a Make-a-Wish, Iowa girl recovering from cancer gives school library a makeover

In kindergarten, kids are introduced to the magic within library walls. For one Earlham student, it also was when she was recovering from cancer.

The two things have come together this week in a unique wish fulfilled.

Adeline Ory was diagnosed with a glioma in the temporal lobe of her brain in 2021. She had surgery at Stead Children's Hospital in Iowa City, but the tumor couldn't be fully removed due to its location.

But that didn't stop Adeline. After 18 months of a new kind of trial chemotherapy, she's more than back on her feet.

"If you didn't know, you wouldn't know," her mother said.

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As Adeline completed her treatment, her parents, Summer and Dan Ory, were connected with Make-a-Wish Iowa.

Adeline's got to make her wish around the time she had been introduced to the magic of the library, getting lost in the pages of "Fancy Nancy" and other books.

So, when Adeline's mother asked her, "What is your wish?" her response didn't come as a shock: The new and avid reader wanted to give the Earlham Community Schools library a colorful and inviting makeover.

"She had just started her kindergarten year, and they had just started checking out books at the library," her mother said. "So, of course, that was on her brain."

The school and Make-a-Wish Iowa had nothing but support for the idea.

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"This was one of the areas we wanted to renovate anyway, so the timing of her wish and where we're at with it, it is just absolutely phenomenal," Earlham elementary Principal Jason Hammen said. "We're excited to work together with Make-a-Wish and make this happen."

After almost two years of construction, the library was revealed Monday to students, teachers, school officials and, most importantly, Adeline and her family.

Make-a-Wish Iowa CEO and President Sara Kurovski and the Earlham team brought Adeline's first-grade class to the bright, new library to soak in the new space.

"We categorize this type of wish as an 'I wish to give' wish," Kurovski said. "They're more of a rare wish, so when we heard about Adeline's wish ... it was very exciting for us."

The school library serves around 650 students in the K-12 school district. It will be for everyone in the school to use and enjoy.

"It's one of the most selfless wishes I've ever heard a kid make," Earlham school Superintendent Steven Kaster said. "There's just a lot of things that kids could ask for. This is something that gives beyond the individual, so it's very thoughtful."

While the library is still not quite finished, the students have already begun to utilize it for all it's worth.

First-grade teacher Jody Dvorak read to the students Monday. Adeline picked out the book, "Thelma the Unicorn," because she likes unicorns.

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Now, Adeline and every student at Earlham can enjoy the newly updated library that her wish made a reality.

"The thought that this wish can get magnified to the whole entire school so they can use it for collaborations in the future, it's just incredible," Adeline's mother said.

Kyle is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Earlham's Adeline Ory uses Make-a-Wish to give school better library