A Wish In The Making, Our MAW Pre-Trip Report

Fairy Dreamfinder

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 30, 2014
Messages
36
Hello All,
My name is Robyn and this is the first post of the story of our MAW journey. I and my husband, Roy, have two dear princesses, Katie (10) and Cassie (6).
Cassie has the rare and life-threatening medical condition, Methylmalonic Acidemia. It is an inborn error of metabolism where she cannot process certain amino acids in protein. Instead, her body accumulates toxic levels of methylmalonic acid and ammonia. She had her initial metabolic crisis when she was three days old. She was having an adverse reaction to the infant Hep-B shot, and presented the MMA earlier and more violently than most. She quit breathing and we almost lost her. She underwent hemo-dialysis before she was even a week old. She was in the NICU for over six weeks stabilizing and recovering. As a result of this crisis, she has static encephalepathy and severe developmental delays. Her mental age is only 18 months even though she is now six years old. She is non-verbal and uses a g-tube for all of her nutritional needs. If the delicate balance we have managed to achieve with her metabolism is disrupted, another crisis can occur. These episodes are very scary (especially for her parents), as they could disable or even kill her in a matter of hours if not quickly treated. If I come across as short at times, please remember that I am under a great deal of stress, even if she does appear to be currently healthy.
I will be posting pictures once I figure out the whole web image hosting thing. ;)
 
A little note about Katie -
She is her sister's biggest cheerleader and closest friend. She helps me out a lot and has a very compassionate heart. Throughout all the stuff we go through with her sister, she has remained strong. I greatly admire her, very few adults would be able to handle the stresses and sacrifices as well as she has managed. She loves her little sister very much. For me, it is important that this trip is just as much for Katie as it is for Cassie.
 
Last fall, I happened to be in our local Disney store when they first started introducing the "Frozen" merchandise. I was intrigued. Not only did these new princesses look very much like my daughters, but they were sisters and were also Scandinavian. (My husband's grandfather was from Sweden.) We didn't know anything about the movie then, but both girls were ecstatic to be Anna and Elsa for Halloween last year. Since they would be going trick-or-treating together, they thought it was a wonderful idea to be characters that were also sisters. Katie and I read the novelization, and it was then that we realized what truly connected us to the Arendelle princesses. One had to live with being born different (like Cassie) and was always in fear of how her differences would affect other people, while the second reached out to her and loved her regardless of the pain inflicted (like Katie). However, Katie is my thoughtful and responsible one (like Elsa) and Cassie has a infectious zeal for joy in life (like Anna).
We saw the movie, and it was an instant favorite for both girls. It is one of the only full-length films that will actually hold Cassie's attention. They both adored the soundtrack and it is still their favorite thing to dance to. The story and the characters deeply resonated with them as they found they had lots of things in common. It was something that was immediately very special for our family. Regardless of how anyone else would like or dislike the movie, it was ours. I knew then just what wish Cassie would love to have. (I seriously never imagined just how insanely popular "Frozen" would become. It's crazy!)
 
Around Christmas-time, I contacted Make a Wish with Cassie's wish. We wanted to make it really special as I believed only Make a Wish could do. We were hoping that the girls could not only meet Anna and Elsa, but perhaps be Anna and Elsa for a day, attending and participating in their royal coronation and maybe even getting to spend a night at the castle!
 

What an inspiration! I hope you have the best trip ever!!!

Do you have dates yet? And have you asked MAW about being Anna and Elsa? I wondered because my daughter did MAW when she was 5 (she had cancer). We had a few specific requests (she wanted to tour the castle) that we were too afraid to bring up. Gosh, looking back I don't know why we were too scared. But I do wish we would have asked. I look forward to seeing how it goes for you!
 
Congrats on the Wish!!! Your daughters are beautiful!! I know how an illness or disability effects the whole family!!! You all deserve this!!!! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!!! Have you got your dates yet?

Looking forward to following along on your journey!!!
 
/
I got a response from MAW almost immediately! It was much quicker than expected, I believe that I heard back from them by 1/2/14. They were super excited about her wish, just as I was. First, we had to clear the hurdle of qualification and then wait for wish granting volunteers to pick up her wish. I got the paperwork all filled out, and the doctors signed off. By February we heard that we had been accepted and the volunteers had been found!

Cassie's 6th birthday was right around the corner, 2/25. Then, I found THE PERFECT Wish / Birthday gift on Disneystore.com - Anna's Coronation Gown! :woohoo: I ordered it immediately, and breathed a sigh of relief when the order was confirmed. I couldn't wait for her to receive this for her birthday and then she would be able to wear it for her wish!

The next day I noticed that the gown had sold out online already. No biggie, I thought, I had already ordered it. BUT I called customer services just to confirm. They assured me that one had been reserved for me and would be shipping soon. OK.
I waited...and waited...and waited...no shipment confirmation.
In the past, I have usually received Disney Store orders within 3-4 days of ordering.
Finally, the night before her birthday, I got the shipment email. Shoes coming, no dress! :worried: I called customer services first thing in the morning (that's right, the morning of HER BIRTHDAY). I found myself bawling as I tried to explain to the CM on the other side the very big significance of this purchase. (I don't usually have the ability to purchase such frivolities, but this was once-in-a-lifetime SPECIAL!) My worst suspicions were confirmed, there would be no dress. :sad: She apologized profusely, but insisted that there was nothing that could be done as there wasn't any more available anywhere. Disappointed, I hung up the phone and dried the tears.
Now Cassie did have a wonderful birthday that day. She didn't have time to miss the dress at all, she was busy loving on her Anna and Elsa balloons and playing with her new dolly.
I only hope that the dress comes back in stock sometime between now and her trip. I already have the shoes, now (like Cinderella) she just needs the dress for her princess fairytale dream meet and greet! Maybe there will still be time for a fairy godmother to work her magic. Here's hoping! pixiedust:
 
In March, we met our lovely wish granting volunteers. One of them happens to be a very close personal friend of Princess Ariel. ;)
They brought little gifts for both of the children. Then the girls danced and sang along with the songs, "First Time in Forever" and "Let It Go". Everyone was super excited!
We went over our wish specifics and some of our special requests. The wish volunteers were absolutely wonderful. They couldn't really give a definitive answer to most of our questions, but those would be forwarded to our wish coordinator at our local MAW chapter.
A couple weeks later, our wish coordinator called about setting possible dates. I asked about working out something that corresponded with the alleged Princess Coronation. They had looked into it, but if anyone at Disney knew anything about it, they weren't talking about it. In fact, MAW was told that "there was no coronation planned". So I made a calculated guess at what the date might be IF the coronation were to happen. Taking the maypole clue from the movie, I figured they might tie it in with the Scandinavian Festival of Midsommer. So we tentatively set the dates for around the 21st of June.
It turned out that those dates weren't going to work out for us anyways. We couldn't get hubby's work and Cassie's doctor's visit schedules changed around that quickly. But I wasn't too far off with my guess! Although not the coronation, Disney announced the Frozen Summer Celebration June 25th! :cheer2:
 














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