Collin's MAW Pre-Trip Report

[chrissid7]

Congrats on the trip. Im so sorry though that your son has to deal with so much. Your children are beautiful. Im a lil partial to redheads because my daughter 17 is. You all deserve this trip so much. No matter how your plans go, what gets tossed and what gets added, I think Collin will have the best week ever! I will pray that he gets super hero strength for his trip. Cant wait to hear the details. We are going on our Wish Trip in December (at least thats the hopes). Im subscribing to this to hear all the fun!

 

[JohnsonsLoveDisney]

What can I say about the "Big Give" folks? You guys are simply awesome. Two more packages this week. Here is the latest:

Thank you so much to Rachal (JohnsonsloveDisney) for the autograph books. We all love them so much. The kids will have a ball getting autographs. And Richelle, you really hit it with the Nascar number shirts. The kids are all about their favorite drivers. Thank you so very much. Not only will ALL the "Big Gift" presents we've received make the trip so much more magical, we will also have something to remember it by. Big Give people are so generous. God bless you for everything you do to bring some joy to us and the other wish families.

Collin is still doing about the same. He did make it to school today for about 2 1/2 hours. He felt pretty good till around 2 pm. After that he napped for about 4 hours. He is still getting sick at least once a day. It's beginning to look like this may be where he stays for a while. It's hard to believe our trip is so close. The kids are really excited. Thank each of you for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Glad they made in there! and it looks like the glue didnt stick very well. Sorry bout that!!!

 

[Mickydees]

Wow only 4 days till we leave. So much to do and so little time
Collins is still doing about the same. He feels good till about 2 in the afternoon. After that he only wants to lay around and rest. Our Neuro thinks we should go ahead with the trip. I get the idea she feels he may not get any better than where he is now. Collins is still getting sick everyday. Just not able to hold anything on his stomach. His GI is going to put in a TP tube Wednesday AM. In theory this should stop him from getting sick since the tube will bypass his stomach altogether. We are really hopping this works so he can enjoy his trip better. Collin received two more "Big Give" gifts this week. (Have I said recently how awesome these people are?) Two of his favorite things: Cars and Pheneas & Ferb. Here are the outfits:

Thank you so much to Deann Claude & Shannon Winters. Sorry don't remember who sent which one. They came on the same day and the packages and outfits got mixed up. But thank both of you so much. Collin really loves both of them.

We also met with our MAW volunteers Monday evening. Here are some pics. (sorry if I put up to many)

Thank you so much to Cheryl & Faith for the back packs filled with the special goodies. Also thanks for the cupcakes they were great. And the Mickey Balloon bouquet too.

Be praying that the tube placement will go well and this will help with his nausea and sickness. All in all Collin is excited and looking forward to our trip. Thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers. I'll try to post one more time before we leave to give an update on the tube placement and how his feeds are going.

 

[VroomVroomLightning]

I am not here a lot lately because of some family issues we are having. I wanted to tell you all to have a great trip if I don't get back on before you leave! I have email updates set up for Collin's caringbridge site, so I get updates on there! I hope your family has a magical time and enjoys every moment of it to the fullest!

 

[jenb1023]

Love the new gifts! Praying that the new tube helps and that Collin feels good for the trip. Have a great time!

 

[cajunfan]

Only one more sleep before you haed to the world!

I pray that you all have a wonderful trip and that everything goes well!

HAVE FUN!!!!

Lynn

 

[Matt1026]

Have a wonderful trip and enjoy!!!

 

[2specialkids]

It's here, it's here!!! Yea!!
Have a wonderful trip!

 

[Mickydees]

Trying to get everything together tonight. As if packing for 5 people is not bad enough, factor in all of Collin's meds & supplies, you really have a fun time. Anyway we are almost there. Hard to believe we're leaving in the morning. Collin's TP tube is doing good. No major throwing up events. The only issue is a rash that developed where the tube is taped on his cheek. Saw his pediatrician today and prescribed some steriods and some topical creme. Hopefully this will clear it up. Otherwise the tube seems to be working for him. Thanks to everyone that has helped make this trip so special. All "Big Gifts" were wonderful. A big thank you to everyone that has sent kind words, positive thoughts and prayers. When we return home there will be plenty of pics and details about our trip. Look out Disney here come the McDaniels with Collin leading the way!

 

[billwendy]

I pray you guys have a WONDERFUL TRIP!!!! Take it easy and enjoy what you can!! Are the kids asleep yet, or are they too excited????

 

[jessica52877]

Have a wonderful trip! I love the little cupcakes! Such simple ideas that are so so cute! Love the two new outfits also! Dallas just asked today for a new Phineas and Ferb shirt! He would love that one!

 

[VroomVroomLightning]

I hope you guys had a fun trip!! Can't wait to hear about it all!

 

[wkualum]

welcome home guys! It was awesome to meet you all Thursday night. What a great family you are

Can't wait to hear more about your trip. What I did hear it sounded great! I hope Collin is still feeling good. He is such a cutie! And your girls are beautiful!

 

[Mickydees]

WOW!!!!!!
Does not begin to describe our trip. Everyone we came in contact with went out of their way to make Collins wish the best it could be. Everyone at the village was so wonderful. They made sure we had everything we needed. The kids loved the idea of getting ice cream almost any time day or night. They also thought it was great to order pizza for a bedtime snack. For those of you that have not been to the village yet let me just say everything you have heard is true and words cannot describe how great this place is. This trip was just what Collin (and our entire family) needed. As for the parks: I can't believe we packed in as much as we did. Looking back I wonder how we got in as much as we did. So many people were so helpful in making sure we got the most out of our park visits. As the trip developed we realized the main thing Collin wanted to do was meet characters and get their autographs. So, as you will see from the pictures, that is what we concentrated on. We still made time for his sisters to do some of what they wanted to do also. We are so thankful for the opportunity to bring some magic into Collin's life. It was great to "get away from reality" for awhile. One word of advice: the recommendation to bring an extra bag - do it. We did not because 2 of our suitcases were only half full. As we started packing to return home we wished we had brought that extra bag. We received so much extra stuff we had to fed ex what would not fit in our suitcases. FYI: There is a Fed Ex in the shopping center across from Wal-Mart on Bass Rd. It will just make our trip last a little longer.
In my next post I'll begin with our Day 1. Hope everyone enjoys our trip and all the pics.

 

[wkualum]

We almost packed up some stuff to ship home but we were able to stuff it all into the empty suitcase we brought. What a treat huh?

can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

[chrissid7]

Im so excited I cannot wait for the pics and to hear all obout it! It sounds just magical and Im glad your experience was worth the wait!

Thanks for the Fedex tip! I think we will do that as well

Welcome Home!

 

[Matt1026]

You are so right with GKTW. It was incredible!!!! Yes we found the Fed-Ex place too and it was a big help to get our things home. We both arrived on the same day so that worked out well for the boys.

Can not wait until to hear about your trip.

 

[Mickydees]

Day 1 begins dark and early. Our flight leaves Atlanta at 9:30 eastern time. This means we have to leave home at 4:45 central time. Some wonderful people from near our hometown in Georgia made it possible for us to get a limo to take us to the airport. The kids were kept in the dark to this little detail. It was a great surprise for them. 4:45 came and no limo I try calling the limo service but of course at this time of the morning I only got the voice mail. Panic sets in. Within a few minutes the limo driver calls and says he cannot find our house.panic increases. Fortunately he has only gone past our house by about a mile or so. I get him turned around and back to our driveway. We get loaded up and are on our way.
We arrive at the airport close to the 2 hour early arrival time. Here is a pic of the limo:

The girls loved the limo ride.

We got thru security without a major ordeal. Even had time to eat before we boarded. The kids did great on the flight considering they had never flown before. We landed on time in Orlando. Not sure where to go we find a wonderful TSA agent that gets us to where our GKTW person "should be". Here she is waiting with us

The TSA agent locates our GKTW person and gets her to us. It was so cool seeing her holding our welcome sign.

We get to the rental car and yet another problem. The car was under a different name than mine (Avis McDaniel). Apparently a keying error had put in the name of the car rental agency instead of my first name. We figure I now have my own car rental company.

We get to the village and everyone was wonderful. We got checked in and taken to our villa.

After getting settled in I went to orientation while Lisa and the kids explored the village. I think the ice cream parlor was the most popular. After resting for a bit we head out to Disney Boardwalk for our dinner at Kouzzina.

After eating we stroll around the Boardwalk for a while. Saw an interesting performer doing various tricks. We then head back to our villa to get ready for Sea World on Sunday. After some eventful moments getting here we were glad to be at our "home away from home" for the week. If you would like to see some more pics from day 1 follow this link to Lisa's facebook pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=113906&id=748503235&l=d513178b58
That's about it for day 1.

 

[kdzbear]

I love the start to your report. Your family seemed to have handled the few speed bumps without too many delays. How was the meal at Kouzzina's?

 

[jenb1023]

I am so glad to hear you had such a great time! GKTW sounds like such a great place - I would love to volunteer there some time!

Glad to hear Day 1 went well despite the speed bumps and that the girls enjoyed the limo. I would love to know more about Kouzzina especially since you guys were really looking forward to it.