Hawaii Make A Wish trip-anyone done one?

[hegs65]

Make a Wish has very generously granted my 18yr old son's wish for our family to take a trip to Hawaii this summer. He has been courageously battling Leukemia for the past 3 years and will finally be done with chemo on May 17th. Has anyone else ever done a Make A Wish trip to Hawaai? Could you fill me in on how the whole thing works? I usually spend months and months planning our itinerary for Disney so you can imagine how weird this is! Any in put on how this whole thing works would be greatly appreciated!

 

[connie1042]

We did a starlight wish many yrs. ago and went to Disney, but some friends of ours did a Make a Wish trip to Hawaii for two of their girls. This is about all I know about it. They flew them from Mn to Hawaii. Paid for meals and car rental and gave them all some spending money. They only went to Oahu Paid for some tours.They allowed a friend of Moms to go with since 2 girl were in wheelchairs and had 2 other younger children. She did have to pay for her own airfare. I believe they did extend their trip for a few day on there own. It is a long way to travel and very expensive, so you want to get the most out of it. I am not sure where you are going , but a 17 yr. old would love the surfers on the North Shore. Huge waves. A lot of talent on the water. Have a great trip.

 

[disney1990]

Our granddaughter did a Make a Wish trip to Australia. Make a Wish did everything -- down to the limo that picked them up and took them to the airport. They had a fantastic trip!

 

[luvthatdisney]

Our ds (19) received a Make-a-wish trip to California about 4 years ago. His wish was to see the X-Games. Our ds has melanoma. We were approved for the wish in June and the trip took place in early August. Very quick as that event only happens once a year. Did not get the final reservations until the week of the trip. It was the best, we did not have to pay a thing. Gave us spending money and even let our ds take a friend with him. Since he was a teenager (15) they understood that seeing the X-games with his parents and sister would not be the same as with his best friend. I was totally amazed.

This was a trip we would never forget. This organization is the best and does so many wonderful things for kids with life threatening illnesses. This was one thing that I completely misunderstood about them. I always thought the child had to be terminal. That is not the case.

OP - sit back relax and let Make-a-wish do their magic. The best part of the trip for me, besides getting to see my ds so happy, were the tickets to Disney Land. The X-Games are held in Los Angeles.

 

[SandrA9810]

There's also the Wish Trippers board. Maybe some over there can be helpful too. But that's pretty awesome too.

although I wonder how many wanted to go to B.C. for the Olympics? That would be really cool for any one to get the chance to go.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

There's also the Wish Trippers board. Maybe some over there can be helpful too. But that's pretty awesome too.

although I wonder how many wanted to go to B.C. for the Olympics? That would be really cool for any one to get the chance to go.

This is a major thread fro Wish Trippers in the disABILITIES Forum.

 

[daughtersrus]

My DD was granted a wish this past fall. Her wish is to go to Hawaii as well. We asked for the wish to be in the summer so that our older 2 DD can go with (one just graduated from college and is teaching, the other is in college). We don't have any specifics yet but from what I understand, they will arrange everything. For us, that includes getting her special bath chair, special car seat and a case of diapers there. They are also taking care of arranging the plane as DD will either need a harness or an approved seat for the plane ride.

The only thing specific that she asked for was a luau. They suggested swimming with dolphins but because of her medical condition, we didn't think that would be a good idea. They said that if we don't have anything else specific, they would add extra money to the prepaid credit card so that we could use it as we saw fit. We are planning on going to Pearl Harbor as well but that is very inexpensive.

The last that I heard from our wish grantor is that they just got their allotment of air miles and are trying to book the flights.

We asked for it to be over the 4th of July as DD will be 16yo on July 3rd but we'll see. Either way, I'm sure it's going to be a great trip!

Best wishes to your family!

 

[SandrA9810]

This is a major thread fro Wish Trippers in the disABILITIES Forum.

I was close enough....

 

[hegs65]

Thank you all for your input. I did not know about the other forum-I will have to check it out.

 

[lindsmom]

My sister's family is on a make a wish to Hawaii right now for her son. They flew out yesterday (Sat) at 4 am, flew to Chicago, quick layover, 11 hours to Hawaii.

They're staying on Waikiki beach. She said they could choose three activities, and they wanted to do a helicopter flyover but there just wasn't enough time in their days (after scheduling his dialysis etc). He's swimming with the dolphins and they're doing a full day luau.

They have someone who arranged the whole trip, including scheduling medical etc.

They were looking forward to having a family vacation that they wouldn't really have to worry about dealing with the day to day stress of having a major medical condition. I'm so happy for them. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time! Enjoy!