5-Year-Old Girl With Leukemia Lives Out Dream as Tattoo Artist

A 5-year-old girl with leukemia was granted her “wish” to become a tattoo artist for a day in Cleveland, Ohio, local media reported.

Maja’s one-day apprenticeship was courtesy of the Cleveland chapter of A Special Wish, a nonprofit that helps children with “life-threatening disorders and illnesses” experience their wishes and aspirations. About 10 percent of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the kind Maja has, can’t be cured, according to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

A Special Wish contacted the shop Voodoo Monkey Tattoo in Cleveland to help actualize Maja’s dream. The organization documented Maja’s inked-out day and shared photos of it on Facebook on September 22.

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These photos show Maja prepping for her debut at the parlor as she stopped for lunch and had an opportunity to “tattoo” her waitress with a Sharpie.

The photos also show Maja touring Voodoo Monkey Tattoo, meeting the artists, checking out dozens of colorful ink bottles, and tattooing her name on a grapefruit. Maja also drew up her first tattoo design: a panda face that an employee later tattooed on her dad and aunt.

“Thank you again to everyone who made this amazing day possible,” A Special Wish’s Facebook post said. “Something tells us that Maja’s tattoo is going to be very popular at Voodoo Monkey!!”

Credit: A Special Wish Cleveland Chapter via Storyful

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