Helping a friend

[reginaastralis]

I hope this is the right place to ask this.

My dear friend passed away last week in a car accident that left her daughter in very critical condition. Her daughter is four and a huge Disney fan, though she has never been. I was thinking about getting a story book and having the characters sign it for her ... we've done something similar for my daughter and she LOVES to be able to look at her book and see the characters signatures.

Do you think this is a good idea? Will it make sense or seem weird to the characters, especially face characters if I am asking for a book to be signed for a child who isn't there. This is a very difficult subject for me to talk about, and I don't know if there is a way for me to tell the story (if asked) without loosing it ... and I don't want to ruin anyone else's magic. We're just hoping to help our little girl get better so she can make her first trip to see the Mouse.

TIA!

 

[a1tinkfans]

First, I am so very sorry for the loss of your friend. I am sending hugs and prayers your way and for the little girl that is so injured!


As far as the book goes, please do it. What a wonderful item to have for her when she ready to have some "bit" of enjoyment thru the difficult times ahead. I would not think "they" would even ASK anything. I would just ask for the autograph. If at all asked, I'd just operhaps "say" that child is back at resort (theres no reason you should have to explain the circumstances or even have to re-hash it especially if your own small child is there)
My heart goes out to that little girl, again, I am so sorry to hear this very sad news.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

I don't think you will have any problem at all getting the characters to sign the book. You could just ask "could you sign this book, it is a gift for a child in the hospital" or.. You don't need to explain anything and just ask them to sign. My dd8 best friend recently past away she had been very very ill. Last year when we went to WDW this friend's birthday was approaching and we wanted to make it special since we knew that she would probably be in the hospital for it. We approached the friend's favorite princess and DD asked the princess to sign the card for her friend and explained why we wanted to make the birthday special. The princess was very sweet about it and wrote a little note to my dd friend in the card.

I am sorry to hear of the tragic loss of your friend, it is wonderful that you are trying to find ways to bring the little girl comfort as she mends physically and emotionally.

 

[imthatgirl]

the characters sign all kinds of things all day for all kinds of people. adults do the autograph books as well. so you would never have to talk about it to anyone. just wait in the line, have your pic taken and hand them the book.

i hope she sees her mouse real soon

 

[SLK1]

Gosh, I will keep this little girl and her family in my prayers! Maybe a pillow case is a good idea too - people do it on the cruise all the time - so when she is sleeping or since she might be bed-ridden, she can see the signatures also.

 

[ekball]

I am so, so sorry. My heart breaks for you and for your friends little girl. I think the book is a wonderful idea that will mean a lot to that little girl....for years to come.

Saying a prayer for you all tonight.

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

My heart is breaking for this family and they are in my prayers.

Just a thought, if you were staying onsite, I would go to the concierge/front desk and explain the situation one time to them and ask them to get the autographs. I do see that you are from Florida, so maybe you do not stay overnight, if that is so, I would go to guest relations at the front of the park and see if they could help you. This way you don't have to track characters down or explain the situation multiple times. I would think they would handle this the way they handle Tinker Bells autograph. We can never meet Tinker Bell to get her autograph, but if you ask certain cast members, they will go behind the scenes to track down Tink and bring you back her autograph.

 

[reginaastralis]

Thank you all for your kind words! The accident just happened a week ago, so I don't think I have even begun coping, just trying to find a way to be a momma to this little girl in any way possible.

We will be at Fort Wilderness for the weekend, and only in the parks for MNSSHP, but I will definately speak with Guest Relations as soon as we enter the park.

I like the pillow case idea ... and I am thinking of being my own fairy godmailer. She is still in ICU, and they aren't sure when she'll wake up so I might wait for one of our upcoming trips to be a Fairy Godmailer to her. I talked to her Grandmother who will be raising her, and she LOVED the idea of a storybook to read to her. It's going to be a slow going, painful road, and this seems like such an easy thing to do to help her and honor my friend.

And thanks for telling me I won't be "weird" ... I've only ever autograph hunted with my own little girl ... not even as a kid do I remember going up to characters.

 

[reginaastralis]

Oh, and thank you all for the prayers! They are very much appreciated and needed.

 

[MousekaMaddi]

How is she doing? Sending healing wishes

 

[reginaastralis]

Summer is still in ICU. They are hoping to remove the breathing tube this week, we're thrilled that she should be breathing on her own ... that's a great milestone we've been praying for.

She had both legs broken, one completely shattered. She had severe swelling on her brain, but they've done a number of surgeries on not only her skull but her legs and hips since the accident. We're just praying that she is healed, she is very very broken right now.

Her mother's car was hit at 2pm by a car driving the wrong way on the crosstown. The woman was drunk, three times the legal limit here in Florida. We're all still completely shocked, and again, thank you all for your prayers.