I wish so badly we lived closer to GKTW. I would love to volunteer there. I have also thought about being a wish granter someday when things slow down with my own kiddos.
It's an amazing place to volunteer, but it can also be a bit hard at times. There are many families where you cannot tell who the wish child is, they have a chronic (but not terminal illness), are in remission, etc. Then there are the families where it is only all too obvious who the wish kid is and you can tell that child probably doesn't have a lot of time left. Many of the places in GKTW are named after children who have visited and later passed on (such as Amberville).
I can still remember on family in particular, three years later. I was driving the cookie cart around Christmas time. The cookie cart is the golf cart that plays music. We drive around giving out cookies, coffee, and punch or hot chocolate. We often talk with the families as for many families this is the first place where people truly understand what they are going through.
Anyway, I was chatting with this mom about her trip and how it was going. She was telling me how it was bittersweet and it was hard at times. Her 8 year old son had muscular dystrophy and they had chosen to do his Wish while he was still relatively healthy so that he could enjoy it to the fullest. Being there, she saw lots of kids who represented what the future would hold for her son. Her son noticed it too. He asked her, 'Mommy, what is wrong with all these kids? These kids are
sick, I just have issues!"
I've always loved how that little boy put it. The mom was talking to me about how the doctor had told them to be honest with him about what would happen. How they had told him that one day he would be in a wheelchair, but at 8 years old, he didn't get it. She asked me, "How do you tell your 8 year old son he is going to die at an early age?"
I have never forgotten that family. I did get a chuckle out of the "I just have issues!" comment, but I'll always remember the mom's pain when she asked me that question. I hope that despite it all we were able to help them forget their son's illness for a time and leave them with some really wonderful memories.
Very funny and I know the feeling.....You will here the same thing but with Trenten
Hopefully we will see each other otherwise I will let you know when we plan our zoo trip
Oh, well we figure Sunday will be a pretty relaxing day and do a little in Downtown Disney. Andrea's going to get a makeover done at Bibbidi Bopdi Botique at Downtown Disney.
)
I've heard it happens from time to time, but in my experience that is the exception. 
