Make a Wish (and other organizations) ~ Wish Trippers UNITE! Volume FIVE!!

[KaylaM]

KaylaM - Yay for the presentation party Sorry it was more than she expected though. Hope she's doing better today, and praying all is well before the trip.



jas792





Glad you are having an amazing time, and had such a wonderful opportunity.




What KaylaM said

Thank you!! She is okay. Not better, but not worse. We are still going. Her neurologist thinks she will come out of this once we are on our way. Sure hope so!!

 

[KaylaM]

For shirts, Walmart (or basically any drug store) in the sewing section. Buy black iron on patches and cut them into mickey head size and then iron them on. I hope she gets better in time for the trip. We battle seizures too and it seems that sometimes we hit the nail on the head on the first med change and other times we have literally battled for years to get them under control.

I ended up going to the disney outlet store and found us each a Mickey Mouse shirt, and didn't have to get a boys/guys either. They had so many to choose from, I couldn't believe it. We went to the regular Disney store and didn't see anything we liked, so that is when I decided to make something.

 

[KaylaM]

That is SO cool!!






Praying the infusions work and she will be healthy for her trip.

Thank you!!!

The infusion didn't make a difference at all, unfortunately. She isn't better, but not worse either, so we are just letting things take their course. We think she will calm down once she starts her trip.

I just hope everything goes smoothly for us!

 

[NEmel]

I ended up going to the disney outlet store and found us each a Mickey Mouse shirt, and didn't have to get a boys/guys either. They had so many to choose from, I couldn't believe it. We went to the regular Disney store and didn't see anything we liked, so that is when I decided to make something.

Glad you had luck! Wish we had a Disney outlet close, we went to one in Orlando and found some great stuff.

 

[NEmel]

We just got back from WDW on Monday. We saw Lilo & Stich at Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and at MVMCP in Magic Kingdom. I'm sure you will be able to track them down somewhere!

Hope you had an awesome trip!! It always stinks when vacation ends!

 

[KaylaM]

Hope you had an awesome trip!! It always stinks when vacation ends!

ain't that the truth, Melissa

 

[sarsop524]

We just got our final box from Make-a-Wish yesterday! T-shirts, itineraries, and spending money!!! We can't wait Our flight times got moved up and we land in Orlando at 9:45 am!!! Somewhere I read that they sometimes offer more than one orietation, anyone know what the current times are? We were hoping to go check out Old Town or something that afternoon/evening if we can get our orientation in early!!

 

[Moodyzblu]

You guys must be so excited !!! I'm excited knowing what you are about to experience !
I know I did orientation just before dinner .. But I'm sure they have earlier ones too.
Can't wait to hear all about your trip !!

 

[KaylaM]

We just got our final box from Make-a-Wish yesterday! T-shirts, itineraries, and spending money!!! We can't wait Our flight times got moved up and we land in Orlando at 9:45 am!!! Somewhere I read that they sometimes offer more than one orietation, anyone know what the current times are? We were hoping to go check out Old Town or something that afternoon/evening if we can get our orientation in early!!

I was just told that there is a 9am and 7:45pm. We get in at 5:40pm on Sunday, so I am hoping to make the evening one. Keeping my fingers cross!

 

[that's nice]

Here is a quick recap of the GKTW Gingerbread Run that I ran in 2 weeks ago (11/3).(taken from my PTR)


We left for Florida on Friday morning. We had the kids up at 4:15 to make it to the airport for our 6:55 flight. We flew into Tampa because the airline prices were much cheaper. Perry helped me navigate through the airport.

We grabbed our rental car and drove over to Give Kids the World for our first visit since Juliana's Dec. 2010 Make-A-Wish trip and to pick up my race packet.

We had lunch at GKTW and did a little exploring.

We also found Juiana's star in the Castle of Miracles.

A little ice-cream before heading over to CSR to check into our room.

5:45 came quickly on Saturday morning- I didn't sleep too well. I kept thinking I would oversleep and miss the run. I drove back over towards GKTW. I had to park in the Walmart parking lot and they had shuttles to bus people down the road to GKTW. There was a stage set up with a DJ playing, characters starting visiting, and I was getting anxious for the run to start.

About 7:45 they started calling people over to the starting line. They started with people who run a 6 minute mile, then 8, then 10. I walked over when they said 10. I'm not sure if people weren't listening or just wanted to be near the front, but when the race started I was dodging slow joggers and runners for at least .3 mile.

The race was fun. It had 2 loops in the village and I passed our villa 2 times. It was pretty emotional. After the run they handed out gift bags, certificates, and had breakfast for us. I stayed for a while and listened to a few families speak.

This particular family was from Canada and moved to Florida after their son Noah passed away to be closer to GKTW and volunteer there. The mom, Nichole, is a DISer and posts on the WISH threads. Have you ever noticed when you roll your cursor over the angel smilie while responding to a post it says Noah? Well that's in honor of their son.

They gave out awards for the top runners...

The finish line...

I finished the run in 29:30.. not too bad.

I am so glad I signed up for this run. It was a major fundraiser for GKTW- $125,000 as of Sunday 11/4 and the money is still growing. It was great going back to GKTW and seeing the village again.

Tim

 

[carebearkidney]

That's nice - thank you for sharing! I loved reading about the run and seeing the photos. I just did my first MAW run in October. I was a bit slower than you... It's the thought that counts right!

 

[Lilfoot93]

We just got our final box from Make-a-Wish yesterday! T-shirts, itineraries, and spending money!!! We can't wait Our flight times got moved up and we land in Orlando at 9:45 am!!! Somewhere I read that they sometimes offer more than one orietation, anyone know what the current times are? We were hoping to go check out Old Town or something that afternoon/evening if we can get our orientation in early!!

I am So excited for you guys!! I can't wait to hear all about your trip. I hope you have a magical time!

Here is a quick recap of the GKTW Gingerbread Run that I ran in 2 weeks ago (11/3).(taken from my PTR)




I finished the run in 29:30.. not too bad.

I am so glad I signed up for this run. It was a major fundraiser for GKTW- $125,000 as of Sunday 11/4 and the money is still growing. It was great going back to GKTW and seeing the village again.

Tim
[/SIZE]

That is great!

Jackie

 

[angel's momma]

While putting around the house this evening i noticed how short the countdown chain is getting! I am so excited! Kyra is telling everyone she sees that she is going and that shes going to hug everyone! Now just to get the doctor in gear to actually sign the paper that says shes good to go now that shes less then 2 weeks from the trip. was supposed to be back today but nothing....this is the same doctor that took 7 weeks to sign the paper to get the approval. I hope she gets going :S

So exciting Praying the paperwork is completed.

Thank you!! She is okay. Not better, but not worse. We are still going. Her neurologist thinks she will come out of this once we are on our way. Sure hope so!!

Continued prayers.

We just got our final box from Make-a-Wish yesterday! T-shirts, itineraries, and spending money!!! We can't wait Our flight times got moved up and we land in Orlando at 9:45 am!!!

Yay!



that's nice - Thanks for running, and sharing - enjoyed reading about it

 

[DelanaAndKyra]

So exciting Praying the paperwork is completed.

Same here! They told them they needed it yesterday and now were on a daily mission to get it. We leave in 9 days!

 

[vegomatic]

Hello everyone!

I don't quite know how to approach this, so I guess I'll just dive in.

My eleven year old son, Liam, was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma last year. He went through five rounds of chemo, three surgeries and many hospital stays. The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada visited him in the hospital during his second round of chemo and told him that he was eligible for a wish. His first reaction was "SKYDIVING!" They politely suggested he choose something else.

I think the chance to make a wish really gave him something to hold on to. The second chemo round was tough because it was an intense mix of chemicals and it made him very sick and he suffered through a lot of pain. My wife and I split 24 hour shifts at the hospital and he always perked up when talking about his wish.

I think he thought that a Disney trip was out of reach, but when he knew it was something he could wish for, he really got serious about it. He chose a land and sea package. Four days at Disney World and three days on a cruise.

Anyway, we leave on Sunday November 25th and it's already been amazing. Children's Wish has been fantastic. Anyone else feel like these organisations go way above and beyond? They've invited us to baseball games, basketball games, Halloween socials, etc, and treated all of us like gold. He's a huge hockey fan and at the Halloween social, they gave him a Winnipeg Jets jersey (our favourite team) autographed by his favourite player.

My wife and I have struggled with guilt and feelings like we don't deserve this trip; or more accurately that there are other families that deserve it more. Liam finished his treatments in under three months, when they told us it would be six to nine months. November 21 will be the one year anniversary of the end of his last treatment. December 20 will be the one year anniversary of his oncologist declaring him "in remission" or "cancer free!"

So yeah, we feel like there are other families who go through so much more than we did. And that's true, no doubt.

But... it could easily have gone the other way. Burkitt's Lymphoma is a very aggressive cancer and achieving remission is not a given. In retrospect the treatment seemed easy and straightforward but it could have easily gone sideways in a hurry. He was stage 1. He had a golf ball sized lump appear on his neck literally... literally overnight. His tonsil was cancerous, his breathing was compromised and in short order it was life threatening.

Anyway, after that short but intense and emotionally draining ordeal, I have decided to be thankful and not guilty when it comes to this trip. I'm going to accept everything that is offered with sincere gratitude. It's a once in a lifetime trip for our family and I plan on enjoying and appreciating every last second.

Thanks for Listening!

Allan.

 

[nuts4wdw]

OK, super uber excited!!!! I did go ahead and call our wish granters. I changed our requested days from Easter week to the first week in June. Other than the heat, I think this will work better for us and won't have to fight the holiday crowds. So, anyway, I got the call tonight that Prescott's wish was approved!!!!!!! Yay! It is getting real! The wish granters said that they will come over at the end of the month to tell Prescott and his brothers that Prescott will get the wish. Prescott won't really understand until he gets there, but his brothers will. The wish granters said they will come over with cake and balloons to tell them. I am so tickled that it is hard to not share. So, I'm sharing with you!!!

 

[NEmel]

OK, super uber excited!!!! I did go ahead and call our wish granters. I changed our requested days from Easter week to the first week in June. Other than the heat, I think this will work better for us and won't have to fight the holiday crowds. So, anyway, I got the call tonight that Prescott's wish was approved!!!!!!! Yay! It is getting real! The wish granters said that they will come over at the end of the month to tell Prescott and his brothers that Prescott will get the wish. Prescott won't really understand until he gets there, but his brothers will. The wish granters said they will come over with cake and balloons to tell them. I am so tickled that it is hard to not share. So, I'm sharing with you!!!

How exciting!! Good choice in going in June, you can always take a break in the heat of the afternoon. Your chapter really moves fast! We met with our wish granters on Oct 24 and every wish has to be approved by the board and they only meet once a month. So we are still waiting.

 

[NEmel]

Hello everyone!

I don't quite know how to approach this, so I guess I'll just dive in.

My eleven year old son, Liam, was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma last year. He went through five rounds of chemo, three surgeries and many hospital stays. The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada visited him in the hospital during his second round of chemo and told him that he was eligible for a wish. His first reaction was "SKYDIVING!" They politely suggested he choose something else.

I think the chance to make a wish really gave him something to hold on to. The second chemo round was tough because it was an intense mix of chemicals and it made him very sick and he suffered through a lot of pain. My wife and I split 24 hour shifts at the hospital and he always perked up when talking about his wish.

I think he thought that a Disney trip was out of reach, but when he knew it was something he could wish for, he really got serious about it. He chose a land and sea package. Four days at Disney World and three days on a cruise.

Anyway, we leave on Sunday November 25th and it's already been amazing. Children's Wish has been fantastic. Anyone else feel like these organisations go way above and beyond? They've invited us to baseball games, basketball games, Halloween socials, etc, and treated all of us like gold. He's a huge hockey fan and at the Halloween social, they gave him a Winnipeg Jets jersey (our favourite team) autographed by his favourite player.

My wife and I have struggled with guilt and feelings like we don't deserve this trip; or more accurately that there are other families that deserve it more. Liam finished his treatments in under three months, when they told us it would be six to nine months. November 21 will be the one year anniversary of the end of his last treatment. December 20 will be the one year anniversary of his oncologist declaring him "in remission" or "cancer free!"

So yeah, we feel like there are other families who go through so much more than we did. And that's true, no doubt.

But... it could easily have gone the other way. Burkitt's Lymphoma is a very aggressive cancer and achieving remission is not a given. In retrospect the treatment seemed easy and straightforward but it could have easily gone sideways in a hurry. He was stage 1. He had a golf ball sized lump appear on his neck literally... literally overnight. His tonsil was cancerous, his breathing was compromised and in short order it was life threatening.

Anyway, after that short but intense and emotionally draining ordeal, I have decided to be thankful and not guilty when it comes to this trip. I'm going to accept everything that is offered with sincere gratitude. It's a once in a lifetime trip for our family and I plan on enjoying and appreciating every last second.

Thanks for Listening!

Allan.

Don't feel bad at all! My son looks like a normal 7 yr old, but he has to go through weekly immune treatments. Just because some other child may have a harder treatment doesn't mean your child doesn't deserve to have a wish. I understand though, we have run across a few people that just look at me crazy and ask why does Carter qualify. Until they spend a day in your shoes no one truely understands! Have a wonderful trip, he did a great job in choosing!!

 

[NEmel]

Tim~

Love the pictures, your kids are so cute and it looks like you had an awesome time!!! Thanks for running for GKTW!!!

 

[NEmel]

This afternoon should be interesting! Carter has to got to the dentist and get 3-4 teeth pulled! His big teeth like to come in before he his baby teeth fall out! They come up right behind. I will post on his PTR after!