When Life Hands you Lemons- Sell them and go to Disney!

[stargazertechie]

So this is my first real attempt at a PTR/TR. Since we're leaving in 5 days, There won't be too much "pre" to this Trip Report, so Let's get the party started.

Cast of Characters

Me- 23, turning 24 during the trip. Disney fanatic and travel guru!

DH- 35, turning 36 right after the trip. Would you believe that 4 years ago he thought that Disney was a 1 day side-trip during a Florida vacation? We've spent a total of 45 days there since then, and we keep going back

We're a bit obsessed (aren't we all?)

Also a few cameo appearances from

Dad- 61. He's dying of cancer. Yes, this sad tidbit is important to the story!
Mom- 63, going on 64. She's pretty amazing

My big sis from my sorority. She's currently at Disney doing the professional internship.

 

[stargazertechie]

I'm sure there are a few of you here who can relate to traveling with people who have chronic illnesses. For those who haven't, let me shed some light on my dad's health history.

In 2007 he thought he had a spider bite on his neck. He had two biopsies at the local hospital that came back clean. They told him to just rest and it would go away. My dad wasn't convinced and went to Chicago to get a 2nd opinion from a surgeon his primary doctor recommended. Turns out it was actually stage IV throat cancer. Talk about a swing and a miss with the local hospital. Still not sure how you miss stage IV cancer... twice?

So 2008 was filled with Chemo (27 doses) Radiation (18 doses) and a radical neck dissection (I'll spare you those pictures... he looked like frankenstein). In May 2008, he was declared cancer free! Life went on as normal.

Fast forward to January 2011. My mom had just retired, and my dad had been retired for a year. They had planned a huge trip to Costa Rica. Silly Dad didn't buy travel insurance. Silly dad got cancer again

Doctors said it was highly treatable and he'd be back on his feet in no time. I said "Let's go to Disney, RIGHT NOW!" We compromised, and decided to go June 2011.

Cancer wasn't as treatable as we thought, and we went from a 1 dose chemo, 3 dose radiation protocol to weekly chemo and 33 dose radiation But the trip was on as planned.

Memorial day weekend- 2 weeks before our trip, we ended up rushing him to the hospital when he collapsed at 5 Guys. Turns out he had diverticulitis. So as he was in surgery, I was on the phone with Disney, working on booking a Thanksgiving trip. Long story short, that trip date changed 4 times (planner's worst nightmare) but we finally settled on the week after Thanksgiving.

The summer was filled with bad news, good news, ok news, and 3 different clinical studies as none of the drugs were working for my poor daddy

We went on that trip assuming it would be "Dad's Last Disney Trip". We left DH at home to care for the pets (several dogs and cats), and had a "just the three of us" vacation that was AMAZING, thanks in part to his scooter rental. We couldn't have done it without that scooter. He was tired, but he ate more and did more during that week in Disney than he had in quite a while at home! By the end of the week, Dad was having such a good time that we booked a bounceback trip for Thanksgiving 2012.

We got GREAT news right after Christmas- the tumors were responding to the chemo, and we had finally found a winning combination. This was a good thing because we were running out of options. Actually, we were told this was the last drug option we had. 2012 was staring to look up...

 

[stargazertechie]

So things were going great with Dad. We had a new outlook on 2012, he was feeling good, and he and mom made TONS of travel plans, including a 2 week expedition across the Pacific Northwest.

Valentines Day mom called me to tell me Dad was in the hospital. They thought the diverticulitis was back. They admitted him and couldn't find any infections, and we thought we were in the clear.

And then we got his PET scan results back. And our world came crashing down. The drug that had been working miracles just 2 months ago had stopped working, and his tumors were growing out of control. He had new spots on his liver, his lungs, and his pelvic tumor was growing again.

Remember the whole "drug of last hope". Yep, last hope. As in no more hopes after this. There isn't enough pixie dust in the world to combat what's happening in his body. The doctors told him there was a pilot drug they could try, but it was a V-E-R-Y L-------------------ONG shot.

With treatment they gave him 12-15 months. Without, 6-9.

He decided to try one last treatment. We'll find out in a few weeks how that is working out.

As soon as I found out, I realized we needed to move our trip date up. Like, NOW up. DH has never traveled with mom, dad, and I, and since our kids will never get to go to Disney with grandpa I at least wanted this experience.

So I booked a trip with nonrefundable outbound, refundable return airfare for March 20-24 for Mom, Dad, DH and I. We would return to POFQ- the resort we stayed at so long ago on our first Disney trip as a family. Sort of coming full circle/bringing closure to his life. We decided to not tell him until last minute, so he wouldn't stress over the decision. Everything fell into place- the HA room he needed, ADRs at our favorite restaurants (including Ohana!) and flight schedules. It had to be a sign! It was so awkward calling DRC and saying "I'm probably going to have to cancel this trip, but here's the situation". Again, I cannot say enough good things about Disney, every CM I spoke with was so loving, compassionate, and spiritual, letting me know they'd be sending extra pixie dust and positive thoughts his way!

He spent most of Feb. getting VERY weak- unable to get out of bed, unable to eat, and puking all day. Disney looked like a slim possibility.

And then they started the steroids again. Let me tell you, those are MIRACLE drugs. He went from needing to be carried up the stairs (don't get me started on how humbling and heartbreaking it is to have to carry your own father up stairs) to cooking, woodworking, and having company over. In my head I was shouting "WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY!"

Finally, last weekend we told Dad about the trip.

That didn't go as planned. I figured his reaction would be but it was more of a

I had already worked 40 extra hours in 3 weeks since I don't have any PTO available. I told him to think for a few days... we had 72 hours before our 5 day cancellation window arrived.

I figured he'd have a change of heart. My birthday is the 22nd, DH's is the week after, and mom's is the first week of April. My dad's always been a "dig in and get it done" type, so I knew in my heart he'd realize how much this meant to all of us and find the strength to get on a plane and go to the most magical place on earth.

 

[stargazertechie]

I am an eternal optimist. I figured he'd say yes.


Dad said no on 3/14, just 6 days before our departure.

My heart broke. My DH would never be able to ride Pirates with my dad. Dad would never see Storybook Circus. We'd never ride Small World together again. No more Mickey. No more Goofy, No more pin trading. No more Pooh Guys.


So I canceled the room

I cancelled our ADRs

I cancelled our Magic Behind Our Steam Trains Tour- Dad had always wanted to do it

I canceled our Southwest Flights- at least we've got $1,000 in credit to be used in the next year. Hopefully they'd give Dad's to us- it's clear he's not gong to ever fly again

The only cost we were truly out was the $300 for our Spirit Airlines flight. Not too bad, all things considered.



And then I started thinking. What if DH and I went for just a couple of days. We already had the flight money invested, and maybe my Big could get us in on her maingate. The wheels in my head started spinning.

I looked at Southwest flights. There was a late flight on 3/22 for just $130 per person! Dipped into the credit and booked those flights. Figured if it fell apart again it would just go back into the big pot of credit.

Then I looked at the rooms. $330 for two nights at Pop? NO THANK YOU! So I stalked DVC rental boards across the internet. And then I got a DVC resale email- they had some points that needed to be used by 4/1. Snagged a studio for 3/20-3/22 for $258 bucks.

So then I looked back at the Spirit website. There was a red-eye leaving at 1:00 AM on 3/20, and they allow same-day standby. Instead of arriving at 11:30, we could be at MCO by 5:05 AM.

I called my Big to see if she could get us in. She'd already used her maingate passes, BUT the good news was that she had Tuesday and Wednesday off. I haven't seen her in 2 years.

And then this is when it gets weird- mom was cleaning out our closets and she found a few old Disney tickets from my childhood, and we are well aware that there are still entitlements left on them. Which means we only have to get tickets for DH!


It's going to be a whirlwind, but we're going to enjoy our mini-getaway. We plan on flying some food down with us, and not eating out save for one big birthday meal.

If you discount the sunk cost of the airline tickets, we're doing this trip on less than $500. Not too shabby for something planned 140 hours in advance.

 

[ChattaAlley]

I am so sorry about your dad. I will say a prayer that will get better, miracles do happen. I hope you enjoy your trip. Looks like you need a get away for a few days. Looking forward to the rest of the report.