Are all wish trips just for those who are terminaly ill.

[mickey&minniealways]

Are all wish trips for just for those children who are terminally ill. A young girl in our community who came down with a streptacoccus pneumonia sepsis with dic on Easter Sunday 2010. After 5 days in a coma Bella made a turn for the worse. If possible. She had to have all 4 limbs amputated. Bella is a couragous young 9 year old with lots of spirit. Her home is currently being modified so that she may come home once she is through rehab. She is currently at Spaulding Rehab in Boston. There is a FL man who will be running the disney marathon to help raise money for her. I don't even know if Disney would be possible for her. It would make her so happy as there is so much she cannot do now.

 

[Schmeck]

Wish trips have come a long way since they were first created for the terminally ill. I believe they take children who have had 'life threatening' illnesses now too, or something similar - can't remember the right terminology tonight.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I know of someone who had a kidney transplant and who went on a wish trip a couple of years ago.

 

[locolala]

I'd say to have her parents apply.. I would imagine that something like that would qualify her. I'm no expert but I would hope that they would allow her to take a trip.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I'm pasting this directly from the make a wish website:

Step 1: Referral
We rely on medical professionals, parents and children themselves for referrals. Children who have reached the age of 2½ and are under the age of 18 at the time of referral who have not received a wish from another wish-granting organization may be eligible for a wish.

Step 2: Medical eligibility
We determine a child’s medical eligibility with the help of the treating physician. To receive a wish, the child must be diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition – i.e., a progressive, degenerative or malignant condition that has placed the child’s life in jeopardy.

Step 3: Finding the true wish
We send one of our enthusiastic wish teams to learn the child’s one true wish. These passionate volunteers connect with wish children and help explore their imaginations for the experience that will delight and inspire them.

Step 4: Creating joy
Our wish granters create an unforgettable experience driven by the child’s creativity. It’s an incredible experience that enriches not just the lives of the children and their families, but often an entire community.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

So according to that, I'd say if this girl's life is at risk due to her condition (ie the amputation or the thing that caused the need for amputation) then she's a candidate. If she will be a healthy kid, just with amputations I don't think she'd qualify. There are other wish granting organizations, you may want to see if they had different requirements. For what it's worth, my cousin was on the donor list for stomach pancreas and small intestine when he got his wish trip (...then stomach pancreas liver and both large and small intestines a few years later)

 

[SueM in MN]

At the time that Make a Wish was begun, most children with cancer did not live and cancer was the most common reason for a WISH trip. Over the years, a LOT of progress has been made in treating childhood cancers and a diagnosis of cancer in a child is no longer an automatic death sentence.
With less children with terminal conditions, MAW elected to include children with life threatening conditions.

Whether or not the condition is considered ‘Life Threatening’ is in large part left up to the doctor. As a nurse, I would personally consider a child with 4 limbs amputated to have a life threatening condition. There are many potential complications that hopefully she will avoid, but if she does get any of them, they will be life threatening.
I’d suggest the parents or doctor do contact Make a Wish to see if she would qualify. My guess is that she would.

 

[visitingapril09]

Every chapter is different. Most definately have her apply. They will call her physician. The physician has a key in saying whether she should qualify. In my opinion, yes, absolutely. The S. Sepsis can cause lasting, serious issues beyond the amputations...........please have this wonderful little girls family fill out applications, you can also apply on behalf of them with their permission. Have them try various wish agencies, Make A Wish is only one. There is Sunshine Foundation and many other do a search for children's wish agencies and your state name.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I will be passing it on shortly. In the meantime please keep Bella and her family in your prayers.

 

[newbie2disney]

Bella was also a determined, positive and talented little gymnast when she became ill. I'm hoping these traits will help her stay strong in her recouperation. Bella and her family are in our prayers.

 

[PatMcDuck]

My daughter had a Wish trip 2 years ago, and she was not terminal. But she did survive a near fatal attack, weeks in ICU,has a serious diagnosis, and has had lots of complications and surgeries. There is a list of eligible illnesses somewhere. But that is not a absolute, no exception list. DD illness was on it, that makes it almost automatic. But they look at kids on a case by case basis. The process was easy, and we heard from them pretty quickly.

I would think she would definitely be eligible. On the Wish trips, you get so much extra assistance it is amazing. We went to DL, not WDW, since DD has been to WDW many times, and she wanted to see the West Coast. (she was 16 when we went). They put us up at Paradise Pier, and we had tickets to Universal Hollywood and Knotts Berry Farm (she was too tired to go there though, needed a day of rest).

 

[maroo]

It is definitely allowed for "life threatening" illnesses now.

Lauren was granted a wish and lots of people around her either wondered if she was dying (soon) or thought she didn't deserve a wish because she "only" had cerebral palsy.

They were all wrong - Lauren is not dying anytime soon, but she also does not just have a "simple" case of cerebral palsy. There was a lot of misunderstanding about how she qualified and what it meant. Her parents even asked if there was something going on that they didn't know about.

I guess I just say that to explain that it isn't a particular diagnosis in all cases that would allow a child to qualify. There are some diagnoses that once given are definitely life threatening (like cancer treated with 6 months or more of chemo, cystic fibrosis, etc)...and there are some diagnoses that are life threatening in some cases and not in others.

Basically if the doctor signs off that it is life threatening and signs off on the child getting a wish, then they are qualified!

Each chapter is different in what they have filled out...Make a Wish is different from Dream Factory, for example. Some organizations will even allow a chronic non-life threatening illness for some parts of their wish program.