Christian's MAKE A WISH Coming True!!!

[blessedmom4]

Hey!! He is hoping to do both. He has always wanted to swim with the dolphins and this seems like a great place. It may be next april but we have also asked for may or september of this year! I dont think we can wait till next year!!!!!!!! We are soooo excited!! I have read about your family, it is so nice to talk to you.

Stop by and say Hi anytime!

I love the pictures of the Special Olympics!!

 

[blessedmom4]

 

[rayleechristian]

It's been about 2 weeks but we finally heard back from our MAW friends! Christian had to choose between swimming with the dolphins and Disney World, he couldn't do both We were hoping that he could swim with them as a special outing but they say that it would count as 2 wishes and of course we can only have one. Its ok though because Raylee really wants to swim with them too so we will wait for another time for the both of them to swim with the dolphins. She also said that he will be able to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge!!! He is sooooooo excited about waking up with the animals!!
We have made a really really really tough decision to have Raylee stay at home and just Christian, Chris and I go on the MAKE A WISH trip. Raylee has said that he would like to stay home and have friends and other family stay with him. He has had opportunities to go to Disney, like for his MAW and for his 10th birthday. I think he knows this should be all about Christian and that if we took him we would have to devote a lot of our time to him too. We had thought about taking another family member to help us with Raylee but MAW is already doing so much we hated to take advantage. I just keep telling myself "its ok". Raylee has already been to Disney a few times, he went to Space Camp in Huntsville, he got his very own service dog, Alec a year ago and The Rileigh and Raylee Angel Ride is all about him!
We haven't heard anything about dates yet. Our MAW friend said that her last MAW took about 6 months from the time they first went out till the family was on their way to Disney. Can anyone shed any light on this? Hopefully we will know soon!

 

[maroo]

I am so glad that you guys are ok after the storms! I was not sure where you guys were from!

Please don't feel like you are taking advantage of MAW - there really is not a ton of extra expense to a MAW chapter adding one person to the trip - and to have your whole family together may be an awesome experience for you guys!

If Raylee really doesn't want to go - then I hope they a BLAST and a fun "trip" being able to hang out with some different folks...

But please don't worry about taxing MAW - they are there to make sure the whole family has a great time!

 

[billwendy]

I agree with Maroo....If you wanted it would be no problem to add a person into your villa. There are 2 separate bedrooms and then a pull out sofabed. I think that it would work out! You'd have to purchase their park tickets and airfare, but I think they could stay and eat at GKTW for free. Can you think of who the "right" person would be?

 

[tinytreasures]

Glad he gets to stay AKL
We have extra people coming because we need the help. 3 wheelchairs and one a stroller.

 

[teresajoy]

I agree with everyone else, you should ask to bring a helper along. It will be wonderful for you all to be together on the trip.

 

[DuchenneMom]

Hey there hope you hear from MAW soon I live in canada so don`t know anything about that organization but I do know about Duchenne we have 4 children one with it and 1 that carries it and my son with Duchenne gets his wish next week we head to DW on the 7th.

Maybe we can keep in touch it`s nice if I can talk to another that understands Duchenne as well.

GL with your dates and will keep up on your thread.

 

[mom2pixies]

I think that's a very mature and very sweet offer of Raylee to stay home and let the focus be on Christian--but, if you can have everyone there, that would be absolutely the best, too! Like the others have stated, I wouldn't worry about taxing MAW--they want the WHOLE family to have an amazing time and if that means bringing along another family member or a friend to help out with the kids, then I think they would be more than happy to agree to it!

 

[rayleechristian]

Hey Maroo! Thanks so much for your concern, we know quite a few folks who have been affected by the tornadoes. But no one was hurt thank goodness. It's just so awful. Alabama can't seem to catch a break. Hurricanes, the oil spill and now this. We found out that a family from our town had a son going to school in Tuscaloosa who lost his arm. So sad. We live on the Gulf coast so we were not affected at all.

Anyway on a lighter note, Raylee is getting really excited about having time with his friends and family while we are gone. I think also this will help with him feeling more independent. He is such an awesome kid!!!

 

[rayleechristian]

I agree with Maroo....If you wanted it would be no problem to add a person into your villa. There are 2 separate bedrooms and then a pull out sofabed. I think that it would work out! You'd have to purchase their park tickets and airfare, but I think they could stay and eat at GKTW for free. Can you think of who the "right" person would be?

Thanks for the info billwendy!! I will for sure remember that if things change. Yea I do have someone in mind that could help us out. Raylee's grandmother is a huge help and I know she would have a blast. But Raylee is really excited about hanging out with his friends and family while we are gone. So i guess i am feeling better about the situation.

 

[rayleechristian]

Glad he gets to stay AKL
We have extra people coming because we need the help. 3 wheelchairs and one a stroller.

I know we are so happy about that!!! He is going to have soooooo much fun there!!! Now I have to make sure we get into a room that is close to the main part of the resort. I hear that all the rooms stem out from the center and it would be best if we were close because of Christian's physical needs.
Goodness, 3 wheelchairs and 1 stroller is a lot!

 

[rayleechristian]

I agree with everyone else, you should ask to bring a helper along. It will be wonderful for you all to be together on the trip.

Thanks teresajoy! Yes it would be but it's all good! I think it's working out just right!

 

[billwendy]

Thanks for the info billwendy!! I will for sure remember that if things change. Yea I do have someone in mind that could help us out. Raylee's grandmother is a huge help and I know she would have a blast. But Raylee is really excited about hanging out with his friends and family while we are gone. So i guess i am feeling better about the situation.

Lol - I totally respect the teenagery wanting to be independent thing - especially in Raylee's case - he probably doesnt get to do that too often and is looking forward to being "on his own"! Whatever happens, you are ALL going to have so much FUN!!!!!

Do you have control over your reservation at all? Can you call and request a room due to medical issues? Is Christian going to use a WC for long distances? Are you going to get to do any of the special cool AK things?

 

[rayleechristian]

Lol - I totally respect the teenagery wanting to be independent thing - especially in Raylee's case - he probably doesnt get to do that too often and is looking forward to being "on his own"! Whatever happens, you are ALL going to have so much FUN!!!!!

Do you have control over your reservation at all? Can you call and request a room due to medical issues? Is Christian going to use a WC for long distances? Are you going to get to do any of the special cool AK things?

Ha Ha!! Yea, he will be 13 in less than a month and we are already feeling the effects!!!

We could probably contact our MAW coordinator and request that she tell them when they are making the reservations.

Christian does have a wheelchair stroller and we may bring the heavier duty manual wheelchair that we have. I thought about getting him into an automatic wheelchair for the week but I fear for the crowds!! He He!!

He would really like to do the Safari but i'm not sure he would have the stamina to do it. He would love to get up close to the animals and have lunch on the savannah!!!
Can you recommend anything?

 

[billwendy]

Ha Ha!! Yea, he will be 13 in less than a month and we are already feeling the effects!!!

We could probably contact our MAW coordinator and request that she tell them when they are making the reservations.

Christian does have a wheelchair stroller and we may bring the heavier duty manual wheelchair that we have. I thought about getting him into an automatic wheelchair for the week but I fear for the crowds!! He He!!

He would really like to do the Safari but i'm not sure he would have the stamina to do it. He would love to get up close to the animals and have lunch on the savannah!!!
Can you recommend anything?

Hehe - a power chair in the crowds might not be too much fun!! EEKS!!! I would bring which ever he can get into and out of easier and also which ever is most comfortable for him to sit in and you guys to push. you cover alot of miles at WDW as you know!!!!

I recently heard that someone did the "Trek" at AK and they LOVED it!!! I also heard that at night time they tell stories by the firepit???? Sounds like so much FUN!!!

I dont know if he'd love it, but through GKTW there is also a petting zoo farm that you can get free tickets to???? Also, make sure you tell everyone at Sea World how much he LOVES animals!!!

Are you planning to visit GKTW at all during this trip?

 

[rayleechristian]

Hey there hope you hear from MAW soon I live in canada so don`t know anything about that organization but I do know about Duchenne we have 4 children one with it and 1 that carries it and my son with Duchenne gets his wish next week we head to DW on the 7th.

Maybe we can keep in touch it`s nice if I can talk to another that understands Duchenne as well.

GL with your dates and will keep up on your thread.

I am soooo glad you found me on here!! How old is your son with duchenne? I am very excited for you, not long now!! Where are you staying? What special things do you have planned? I am planning ours now and it is sooooo much fun and mind boggling too.

It is nice to be able to communicate with someone going through the same things and the heartache. Having two boys with duchenne is very difficult but they are just angels as I'm sure you know.

 

[rayleechristian]

I think that's a very mature and very sweet offer of Raylee to stay home and let the focus be on Christian--but, if you can have everyone there, that would be absolutely the best, too! Like the others have stated, I wouldn't worry about taxing MAW--they want the WHOLE family to have an amazing time and if that means bringing along another family member or a friend to help out with the kids, then I think they would be more than happy to agree to it!

Hey mom2pixies!! Raylee is very mature and very sweet!!! Isn't it wonderful when your children make you proud! I am happy to say that Raylee is really excited about hanging out with people other than us! He is turning into a teenager right before my eyes!!

 

[DuchenneMom]

I am soooo glad you found me on here!! How old is your son with duchenne? I am very excited for you, not long now!! Where are you staying? What special things do you have planned? I am planning ours now and it is sooooo much fun and mind boggling too.

It is nice to be able to communicate with someone going through the same things and the heartache. Having two boys with duchenne is very difficult but they are just angels as I'm sure you know.

My son is turning 7 in June, and we are staying at GKTW the only real special thing is a date with Daisy Duck on Sunday morning (he thinks she is beautiful). I didn't find this site till a day ago :-( so am trying now to figure stuff out. Everyone is soooo excited and I really don't have much of a clue of all the stuff that can be done there. The kids really wanna go to see Harry Potter area, sea world, and other than that not sure what is all available been reading these threads and trying to plan. I am not sure where do I start my thread for our trip.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

Hi! I am reading along on your ptr and have enjoyed seeing the pictures of your boys. Yay for Raylee wanting to have some friends time. It sounds like he is going to have a great time!

Awsome that Christian gets to wake up with the animals at Animal Kingdom Lodge! That sounds great! I "think" you can still visit GKTW and do all the fun things they do there as well.

Just wanted to say hello