Make a Wish (and other organizations) ~ Wish Trippers UNITE! Volume FIVE!!

[livndisney]

I just have some questions about general stuff. What do you all do about the stuff you need to carry around with you in the parks. Cade has a feeding tube and he has bolus feedings during the day that we do by gravity. The formula he uses has to be kept cold. He also has several medications that he has that are dosed throughout the day, some of which have to be kept cold. I usually just carry a small cooler bag with me, but the stuff does get heavy. I thought about getting an insulated backpack, but I haven't looked at them yet to see how much I could fit into them. Any advice or suggestions?

First Aid should be able to help you out. They can store equipment and med(fridge). There is a FA in each of the parks.

 

[carebearkidney]

Yes - first aid helped us too! My son has his rejection meds and blood pressure meds that had to be kept cold. I put them in a little baggie that I labeled with his name, birthdate and med names (in the event they needed that for some reason - they didn't). They stored them for me, along with a couple cans of his nutren jr (he is feed by gravity bolus too!) I thought I would have problems going through security bag checks with syringes full of medicines, but not problems whatsoever! And I used his stroller as a wheelchair to help contain him during the feeds, and for immediately after. As in 250 mls of milk product on a tummy that is surgically not where it is supposed to be naturally, coupled with running around and excitement = and

 

[blessedmom4]

I wanted to make sure everyone sees this news I received via email about GKTW!!! Typos aren't mine for a change...
Dear Angel Volunteers,

Great news! Give Kids The World is scheduled to be featured in a national news
segment on the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley tonight, July 26th, during the
6:30pm newscast. Correspondent Mark Strassman was at the Village to cover
GKTW’s 2 million volunteer hour milestone. The story will feature Angel Joe
Koch , who has volunteered at the Village since 1990 and has logged over 20,000
volunteers hours in the process. In addition to interviewing Joe and following
him around on his gift-giving route, Strassman also interviewed GKTW President
Pam Landwirth. Also at the Village during their film shoot was Princess Alyssa
who returned to volunteer and graciously agreed to be interviewed.

While the story is schedule to run tongiht, there is always the chance that it
could be “bumped” for breaking news. If that happens, we’ll keep you posted on
the next potential air date. In the meantime, set your DVR, check out GKTW’s
social media sites and share our info encouraging your friends and family to do
the same.

my prayers are with you and your family today

Praying for your sweet girl and your family.

Definitely in my heart and prayers! Wishing for an uncomplicated surgery, swift recovery and for you all to head home as soon as possible!

Big prayers for Lisa and her family, hang in there Mom, rest every chance you get!

Praying for Lisa !

Praying for sweet Lisa.

I also want to THANK YOU ALL for the wonderful messages of support and prayer. As parents of children eligible for a wish you really "get it" and I don't need to explain.

Lisa did well during surgery and I hope to update more on our site later if you want to read more. Otherwise, PLEASE KNOW how thankful I was to see your supportive messages and I hope you are all having fun planning your trips!

 

[carebearkidney]

Going to share on facebook for everyone to watch tonight!

So happy Lisa did well - hope she feels better quickly!

 

[newdrama12]

I wanted to make sure everyone sees this news I received via email about GKTW!!! Typos aren't mine for a change...
Dear Angel Volunteers,

Great news! Give Kids The World is scheduled to be featured in a national news
segment on the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley tonight, July 26th, during the
6:30pm newscast. Correspondent Mark Strassman was at the Village to cover
GKTW’s 2 million volunteer hour milestone. The story will feature Angel Joe
Koch , who has volunteered at the Village since 1990 and has logged over 20,000
volunteers hours in the process. In addition to interviewing Joe and following
him around on his gift-giving route, Strassman also interviewed GKTW President
Pam Landwirth. Also at the Village during their film shoot was Princess Alyssa
who returned to volunteer and graciously agreed to be interviewed.

While the story is schedule to run tongiht, there is always the chance that it
could be “bumped” for breaking news. If that happens, we’ll keep you posted on
the next potential air date. In the meantime, set your DVR, check out GKTW’s
social media sites and share our info encouraging your friends and family to do
the same.

GKTW posted on facebook a little bit ago that the story has been bumped until sometime next week.

Glad to hear that Princess Lisa is doing ok. Hope that they get the A/C fixed soon that everyone there has some relief from the heat.

 

[mdfalls]

This post was very helpful in helping me post a picture just now on our make a wish trip thread! Thanks so very much! I've been watching the boards forever but have always been able to get all the information off of them that I needed without posting. This is a new experience for me! Now I am going to go try and make a signature! Thanks guys!

 

[Momtokcc]

Yes - first aid helped us too! My son has his rejection meds and blood pressure meds that had to be kept cold. I put them in a little baggie that I labeled with his name, birthdate and med names (in the event they needed that for some reason - they didn't). They stored them for me, along with a couple cans of his nutren jr (he is feed by gravity bolus too!) I thought I would have problems going through security bag checks with syringes full of medicines, but not problems whatsoever! And I used his stroller as a wheelchair to help contain him during the feeds, and for immediately after. As in 250 mls of milk product on a tummy that is surgically not where it is supposed to be naturally, coupled with running around and excitement = and

Yay! Glad to hear that first aid will be able to help with this stuff. Cade uses Elecare for his tube feeds - it only comes in powder so I usually mix it in the morning and divide the amounts I need into containers if we are going to be out doing things. I guess I can just label my containers. We will be using Cade's wheelchair - he can walk but he has issues with pain and fatigue so I generally don't have to worry about running around and excitement too much.

I think we will be able to get away with only taking 7 of his meds to the parks with us. The other 5 we will be able to leave at the villa. Out of the 7 we bring to the parks, only 2 have to stay refrigerated.

Thanks for all your information - it really helps!!
Thanks for all the great information!!

 

[mdfalls]

I wondered why I didn't get notices when someone posts here...I hadn't subscribed! ooops

 

[kjmommie]

I have a question about a make a wish trip to Disneyland. We are a family that visits WDW at least once a year and have even been to Hong Kong Disney on our adoption trip to make us a family of 4 when we adopted DS, now almost 6.

My DS qualifies for a wish. We were going to wait until later in life for him to make a choice but he really wants to go to see the new Cars Land since he sees video of it on the Disney Channel all the time. He loves CARs as well (his room, toys, books, etc.) and dolphins.l

So he has mentioned Cars Land and he would like to swim with dolphins. Has anyone had any experience with DisneyLAND for make a wish? There is very little on the boards to help for Disneyland.

I have not put in for his wish yet as this just came about over the last few weeks but I know that he qualifies as per his doctor and others that have his same condition.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Kristi

 

[AmberGreenawalt]

Hi Disfriends!

We are still anxiously awaiting some news on whether our princess Savannah has been approved for a wish. From the time our son Sebastian was reffered for a wish to the time that we got a call from his wish granters to set up a meeting was no longer than a week. We are approaching a month now for Savannah. What has your experience been? Just wondering if this is the norm?

Meanwhile, while we have been waiting to hear from Make-a-Wish we have been visiting with my friend Marianne (Mphalens on the DISboards) and I have been going through photos from our past Disney trips and reminiscing. I posted a whole bunch on Savannah's PTR, including photos from Sebastian's wish trip in 2008. I thought ya'll might like to check them out. I know thy make me smile! I hope you enjoy to too...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2956109

 

[dtnrhi]

Hey guys,
Been a lurker for a few weeks now.
We were originally going to DL for my brothers wish trip at the end of September or beginning of October. Due to health issues, the trip has been moved up. We leave August 12th.

We really need this trip. To be frank, this summer has sucked. My dad died when we were coming back into town from a family vacation. A faulty tire caused our RV to be totaled and he was fatally ejected because his seatbelt was shredded from the impact. Since the accident, my handicapped brother has been in the hospital twice (once from the accident directly, the second time from breathing issues that resulted in a collapsed lung and three bacterial infections.) I'm typing this from the hospital room. We have been here two weeks, and at one point they were afraid he would not leave... He is getting better and we should be out within two days. Even when he gets out, we can't go home, however, because my mom is in a separate hospital herself with a peptic ulcer and an internal infection. We should be home after this weekend.

After that, we get ready for school, go for three days, and Then we will be in Disneyland. We don't know where we are staying yet, although it is one of the DLR hotels. Are there any tips to make this trip even cooler? Any must do's? (other than cars land! Lol) any cool nondisney restaurants to eat at? Last time I was there I was 14, and it has changed a lot. Our ages are me 17, my brother, 13, brother 11, brother (wish kid) 9, and sister 4.

Also, is the photo pass+ included? I had read that it was for WDW but I'm not sure about DL. Need to know that ASAP because I have two days to order it at the promo preorder price.

Thanks guys!

 

[maroo]

Hey guys,
Been a lurker for a few weeks now.
We were originally going to DL for my brothers wish trip at the end of September or beginning of October. Due to health issues, the trip has been moved up. We leave August 12th.

We really need this trip. To be frank, this summer has sucked. My dad died when we were coming back into town from a family vacation. A faulty tire caused our RV to be totaled and he was fatally ejected because his seatbelt was shredded from the impact. Since the accident, my handicapped brother has been in the hospital twice (once from the accident directly, the second time from breathing issues that resulted in a collapsed lung and three bacterial infections.) I'm typing this from the hospital room. We have been here two weeks, and at one point they were afraid he would not leave... He is getting better and we should be out within two days. Even when he gets out, we can't go home, however, because my mom is in a separate hospital herself with a peptic ulcer and an internal infection. We should be home after this weekend.

After that, we get ready for school, go for three days, and Then we will be in Disneyland. We don't know where we are staying yet, although it is one of the DLR hotels. Are there any tips to make this trip even cooler? Any must do's? (other than cars land! Lol) any cool nondisney restaurants to eat at? Last time I was there I was 14, and it has changed a lot. Our ages are me 17, my brother, 13, brother 11, brother (wish kid) 9, and sister 4.

Also, is the photo pass+ included? I had read that it was for WDW but I'm not sure about DL. Need to know that ASAP because I have two days to order it at the promo preorder price.

Thanks guys!

Oh my goodness!!

What a very difficult time you and your family have had! I am so sorry!

I hope you guys have a very magical trip!


Definitely call the Photopass people - or maybe have your wish organization call them - I would imagine they would donate one to you guys with the right paperwork, etc...They really do want to make things easy for Wish Families.

It is basically through Give Kids the World that the Photopass is able to be given away - But I would definitely call them and find out if they will let you get a discount or something...

I used to have a few vouchers, but that was over a year ago and I am sure they are all expired by now.

I do hope you will come back and tell us how your trip went and give us a "report" of sorts.

God bless you for all that you are doing for your family! They are quite lucky to have you!

 

[kritter47]

Hi Disfriends!

We are still anxiously awaiting some news on whether our princess Savannah has been approved for a wish. From the time our son Sebastian was reffered for a wish to the time that we got a call from his wish granters to set up a meeting was no longer than a week. We are approaching a month now for Savannah. What has your experience been? Just wondering if this is the norm?

Meanwhile, while we have been waiting to hear from Make-a-Wish we have been visiting with my friend Marianne (Mphalens on the DISboards) and I have been going through photos from our past Disney trips and reminiscing. I posted a whole bunch on Savannah's PTR, including photos from Sebastian's wish trip in 2008. I thought ya'll might like to check them out. I know thy make me smile! I hope you enjoy to too...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2956109

I can help answer this one. There are really two potential questions here, so I'll address both.

The first is how long does it take for a child to be approved to receive a wish. That's almost entirely dependent on getting some paperwork back from the doctor, because chapters have to have a signed piece of paper saying your child fits MaW eligibility rules before they can move on in the process.

The second place you could be hung up is the assigning of wish granters. Once a child has been approved, he or she goes onto a list of all available wish children in that chapter, and the local wish granters sign up for children from that list. Being selected can happen immediately or take a while depending on the number of volunteers, the current number of wishes they're already working on, how far you are from the local volunteers and the number of other children on the list. The time on that list can vary greatly. I'd say your first child getting from approved to having a team assigned in under a week is the exception rather than the rule.

If you haven't received notice that she's even eligible, I would call your local chapter say your first child was already meeting his wish granters within a week, so you were curious where you were in the process with your daughter. If you've received notice she's eligible, then she's almost certainly on the available children list, and it's just a matter of the right two people coming along to sign up.

ETA: Okay, I looked at your PTR and saw you requested the same wish granters. That could also easily hold up the process because they could have several ongoing wishes and not enough free time to add another. Or one could have moved or have a family issue or any number of things where one doesn't feel like she has enough time or energy for Savannah's wish right now. And I don't mean that as a negative - I'd love to take on all the kids on the waiting list, but I can only balance between 2-4 depending on real life. Silly work keeping me from volunteering all of my time.

I have done multiple wishes for one family, but those happened essentially simultaneously, so I'm not much help about coming back to a family years later.

 

[maroo]

We have our dates and we will be going August 15 - 21st, 2012 and staying at GKTW. So excited. I created a thread but don't know how to add it here. It comes up under a search for "Spencer Make A Wish" though. We got our flight info and it looks like we have flights with no transfers both there and back, from Norfolk va to orlando! (and they are providing us transport to and from the airport...limo?) We are so excited!!!

Awesome! I will go find your thread and then link it here with your dates and such!

So glad you are here! Welcome to the DIS!!

PLEASE keep my daughter, Lisa, in prayer. This is her fifth significant hospital stay since her Make a Wish trip in October. We have been inpatient since Monday. She is having surgery today and we could certainly use all of the prayers we can get. Thank you!

WELCOME to everyone that is new here. You will have a BLAST planning and anticipating your trips. They truly ARE amazing!!

AMY, Praying Alli feels better very soon. I know she hasn't been well since you all got back from your family trip to Disney and her journey to camp. Praying you all get some relief soon you definitely deserve it!

I will certainly pray for you guys!!! I have been keeping up a little bit and praying for you guys!!

Hi! My name is Holly. My family and I are soo excited! We just received THE call that ds8 was approved for a wish! We never imagined this would happen. Our family consists of dh, ds11, ds9, ds8 wish kiddo, and dd7. We have never taken a true family vacation so we cannot wait to make memories together. Luke has a rare seizure disorder. He was diagnosed with Wset Syndrome at 8 months old. It has been a rough 8 years for the whole family, and we are very excited to let loose and enjoy a wonderful MAW experience. Thanks for listening. I have been a lurker here for a while now, but am so happy to finally introduce my son Luke!

That is awesome!! I am so glad that you guys are going to get to have an awesome trip!

Do we know his wish yet?!?

We've used a GAC at Disneyland, but we only used it for rides Talia was going on, the boys used fast pass for the stuff they wanted that she couldn't be part of. I'll make sure they ask a CM first, I wouldn't think of pretending, who wants to stress on that while at Disney? But like you mentioned I didn't want them stuck in an hours long line and having to wait for them, way too much fun to pack in too few days!
We will be staying at GKTW, and we are soo thrilled about that! MAW said most likely in spring, but requested fall or spring dates on paper, so who knows! Thanks for the info, though, glad to hear it will probably work!

A "regular" GAC - DEFINITELY - can not be "transferrable" - it is only for the child or adult who needs the accommodation...

But on a wish trip - they sorta let the "magic button" and/or "wish trip" GAC sort of act as a little more like a VIP pass...It just means more to most CM's to see the wish trip stuff on there...Some CM's are new or trained differently - they don't always know that they can allow a wish family to do things differently...so it is possible you find a CM that says no - but usually the CM will let the siblings use it like a fastpass.

I went on a trip with a boy with Autism that had a GAC with some typical accommodations and we got our own fastpasses for anything he could not ride - and that was definitely the way to go for that type of thing - but a wish trip is just different...

You guys will have a blast!

I just have some questions about general stuff. What do you all do about the stuff you need to carry around with you in the parks. Cade has a feeding tube and he has bolus feedings during the day that we do by gravity. The formula he uses has to be kept cold. He also has several medications that he has that are dosed throughout the day, some of which have to be kept cold. I usually just carry a small cooler bag with me, but the stuff does get heavy. I thought about getting an insulated backpack, but I haven't looked at them yet to see how much I could fit into them. Any advice or suggestions?

The First Aid at each Park will let you store things there with no problem - but then you gotta go back and get them, etc. We definitely loaded down Lauren's wheelchair with stuff the whole time! And we used the stroller we got for William - even though he was 8 or so at the time, he got really tired and we were glad we had it...and when he wasn't using it, we would put stuff in it. (You get a free stroller at Disney on a wish trip.) We did bring an "extra's" bag each day that we did not want to carry around that had a change of clothes, extra medicine, extra medical stuff and didn't carry it around - we put it at First Aid.

GKTW posted on facebook a little bit ago that the story has been bumped until sometime next week.

Glad to hear that Princess Lisa is doing ok. Hope that they get the A/C fixed soon that everyone there has some relief from the heat.

I know this is sad - but I am so glad it got bumped - because I really wanted to see it!! Keep posting it here if you can!

This post was very helpful in helping me post a picture just now on our make a wish trip thread! Thanks so very much! I've been watching the boards forever but have always been able to get all the information off of them that I needed without posting. This is a new experience for me! Now I am going to go try and make a signature! Thanks guys!

I have a question about a make a wish trip to Disneyland. We are a family that visits WDW at least once a year and have even been to Hong Kong Disney on our adoption trip to make us a family of 4 when we adopted DS, now almost 6.

My DS qualifies for a wish. We were going to wait until later in life for him to make a choice but he really wants to go to see the new Cars Land since he sees video of it on the Disney Channel all the time. He loves CARs as well (his room, toys, books, etc.) and dolphins.l

So he has mentioned Cars Land and he would like to swim with dolphins. Has anyone had any experience with DisneyLAND for make a wish? There is very little on the boards to help for Disneyland.

I have not put in for his wish yet as this just came about over the last few weeks but I know that he qualifies as per his doctor and others that have his same condition.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Kristi

Give Kids the World is an amazing place - and that is only at Disney World florida and I don't think they do the dolphin only wish through GKTW either? They do the Universal and Disney World wishes at GKTW.

Personally I love GKTW and you can only go there on a wish trip - so part of me thinks it is such a great opportunity for the family that you can't get any other way!

But - it is all about what the child wants as his true wish!!

WE do have a couple of wish trip reports from Disneyland - they are not the same as Disney World trips - the GAC cards are different and the way they do about it is different, too.

Hi Disfriends!

We are still anxiously awaiting some news on whether our princess Savannah has been approved for a wish. From the time our son Sebastian was reffered for a wish to the time that we got a call from his wish granters to set up a meeting was no longer than a week. We are approaching a month now for Savannah. What has your experience been? Just wondering if this is the norm?

Meanwhile, while we have been waiting to hear from Make-a-Wish we have been visiting with my friend Marianne (Mphalens on the DISboards) and I have been going through photos from our past Disney trips and reminiscing. I posted a whole bunch on Savannah's PTR, including photos from Sebastian's wish trip in 2008. I thought ya'll might like to check them out. I know thy make me smile! I hope you enjoy to too...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2956109

I loved seeing all of the wish trip stuff!!!!!! Awesome!

 

[maroo]

I can help answer this one. There are really two potential questions here, so I'll address both.

The first is how long does it take for a child to be approved to receive a wish. That's almost entirely dependent on getting some paperwork back from the doctor, because chapters have to have a signed piece of paper saying your child fits MaW eligibility rules before they can move on in the process.

The second place you could be hung up is the assigning of wish granters. Once a child has been approved, he or she goes onto a list of all available wish children in that chapter, and the local wish granters sign up for children from that list. Being selected can happen immediately or take a while depending on the number of volunteers, the current number of wishes they're already working on, how far you are from the local volunteers and the number of other children on the list. The time on that list can vary greatly. I'd say your first child getting from approved to having a team assigned in under a week is the exception rather than the rule.

If you haven't received notice that she's even eligible, I would call your local chapter say your first child was already meeting his wish granters within a week, so you were curious where you were in the process with your daughter. If you've received notice she's eligible, then she's almost certainly on the available children list, and it's just a matter of the right two people coming along to sign up.

ETA: Okay, I looked at your PTR and saw you requested the same wish granters. That could also easily hold up the process because they could have several ongoing wishes and not enough free time to add another. Or one could have moved or have a family issue or any number of things where one doesn't feel like she has enough time or energy for Savannah's wish right now. And I don't mean that as a negative - I'd love to take on all the kids on the waiting list, but I can only balance between 2-4 depending on real life. Silly work keeping me from volunteering all of my time.

I have done multiple wishes for one family, but those happened essentially simultaneously, so I'm not much help about coming back to a family years later.

It is SOOOO helpful to have a real wish granter on here!!!

 

[kritter47]

It is SOOOO helpful to have a real wish granter on here!!!

Aww, thanks. It's hard to answer specific questions since every chapter is different, but I can definitely lay out the process when people have questions like this.

I have two kids with WDW wishes in the process right now. For their privacy, I obviously can't say anything specific about them (or anything about my other or previous wish kiddos). But I may be here to brainstorm for a particular kid when it gets closer to one of those wishes. It's the little touches that make all the difference on my end.

I can, however, link articles written by MaW about my previous Wish families. Here's one of my favorites. http://makeawishsmo.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/nathans-and-chases-wishes/

 

[mdfalls]

It is SOOOO helpful to have a real wish granter on here!!!

I'm not a wish granter (although I'm interested in that at some point!), but I too have had two children get wishes. My son, Madison, is a cancer survivor and got a wish in 2002. He also chose Disneyworld and we stayed at GKTW. His wish moved very quickly. We also at that time, lived in a rural area where there weren't as many kids getting wishes. He had actually been approved, and already made his wish within a month. However, we had to wait a few months to get into GKTW. This time around, my step-son, Spencer gets the wish. I wasn't married to his dad when my son got his wish (we just got married a year ago) and Spencer has also wished for GKTW and Disneyworld. We now live in a much more populated area but apparently there are little to no volunteers in our area! We began the process in February and it was late May before they could get anyone here. (and he was approved for his wish within two weeks of us applying....but his doctor is really good about things.) We leave on our wish in under 3 weeks. So for us the first time...getting there was the hold up. This time around, getting a volunteer here was the hold up. Our MAW chapter is great about answering questions and keeping you involved! Just give them a call and see what's going on. I'm sure they will be happy to talk to you. The lady assigned to us even told me that she LOVES talking to the families on the phone. Sometimes there are things they are stalled on, that you might be able to help them with. For instance, the doctor gives the intial yes that you qualify, then once the wish is actually made they have to sign off on that too. We started in Feb. but wanted to get our wish in by August because my husband is retiring from the military after 20 years and will be looking for new employment in september....which means he will have to wait to qualify for vacation time off. So all we needed was the doctor to sign saying the wish was ok. We had her fax the papers and Spencer had an appt the next day. While we were there we found out who had the papers and they put them in Spencer's file. The doctor looked at them and signed them right during spencers appt and then gave them to me. I had the lady at the desk fax them back before we left. So that put us being able to get in during our timeframe. So make a call....you never know.

 

[maroo]

Aww, thanks. It's hard to answer specific questions since every chapter is different, but I can definitely lay out the process when people have questions like this.

I have two kids with WDW wishes in the process right now. For their privacy, I obviously can't say anything specific about them (or anything about my other or previous wish kiddos). But I may be here to brainstorm for a particular kid when it gets closer to one of those wishes. It's the little touches that make all the difference on my end.

I can, however, link articles written by MaW about my previous Wish families. Here's one of my favorites. http://makeawishsmo.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/nathans-and-chases-wishes/

I have found that for a while now - that it is so hard to answer when it is so different state by state - but you are right - knowing the training and how it works from that perspective is an awesome addition here on the thread!!

Totally understand the privacy issue and totally respect that! Although they are always welcome here, too!! (If they want, of course!)

The little things are the big things on a wish trip! I will check out that article!

I'm not a wish granter (although I'm interested in that at some point!), but I too have had two children get wishes. My son, Madison, is a cancer survivor and got a wish in 2002. He also chose Disneyworld and we stayed at GKTW. His wish moved very quickly. We also at that time, lived in a rural area where there weren't as many kids getting wishes. He had actually been approved, and already made his wish within a month. However, we had to wait a few months to get into GKTW. This time around, my step-son, Spencer gets the wish. I wasn't married to his dad when my son got his wish (we just got married a year ago) and Spencer has also wished for GKTW and Disneyworld. We now live in a much more populated area but apparently there are little to no volunteers in our area! We began the process in February and it was late May before they could get anyone here. (and he was approved for his wish within two weeks of us applying....but his doctor is really good about things.) We leave on our wish in under 3 weeks. So for us the first time...getting there was the hold up. This time around, getting a volunteer here was the hold up. Our MAW chapter is great about answering questions and keeping you involved! Just give them a call and see what's going on. I'm sure they will be happy to talk to you. The lady assigned to us even told me that she LOVES talking to the families on the phone. Sometimes there are things they are stalled on, that you might be able to help them with. For instance, the doctor gives the intial yes that you qualify, then once the wish is actually made they have to sign off on that too. We started in Feb. but wanted to get our wish in by August because my husband is retiring from the military after 20 years and will be looking for new employment in september....which means he will have to wait to qualify for vacation time off. So all we needed was the doctor to sign saying the wish was ok. We had her fax the papers and Spencer had an appt the next day. While we were there we found out who had the papers and they put them in Spencer's file. The doctor looked at them and signed them right during spencers appt and then gave them to me. I had the lady at the desk fax them back before we left. So that put us being able to get in during our timeframe. So make a call....you never know.

 

[yeti5353]

[


Give Kids the World is an amazing place - and that is only at Disney World florida and I don't think they do the dolphin only wish through GKTW either? They do the Universal and Disney World wishes at GKTW.

Molly wanted to do the dolphin wish and our chapter told us we would still stay at GKTW and get WDW or other passes, the difference is the trip is only 5 days, so only three non travel days. Molly decided to go for the regular 7 day trip to WDW and we raised money to pay for a day at discovery cove to do the dolphin thing.

On the subject of stuff- I am worried about this too. Molly has some things i will need to haul around and she is at this point refusing to ride in a wheel chair at disney. We may have to get one "for her stuff" and just see if she does not end up in by the end of the trip. especially on our long epcot day. I really need some sort of secure shopping cart LOL!

 

[Indykjt]

Big day today... we got our welcome packet from MAW! We have the names of Braden's wish granters! It looks like a married couple and we hope to hear from them soon!

On another note, I just realized how hooked into the Disney mindset our whole family is right now. We are sitting here watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics, and we saw this on the TV... and guess what the first thing we all shouted out at the same time was???

HIDDEN MICKEY!!!

It's gonna be a long wait!!!