Wish Trippers...Unite!! Volume One

[hotmamac]

Oh, Amber ~
I'm so sorry you all have to go thru this! We are thinking of you all and praying for your baby.

 

[camarks1234]

oh Amber! That is so awful. I'm keeping you all in my prayers.

 

[AmberGreenawalt]

My in-laws brought our Big Give packages to the hospital and we got to open them here. The WONDERUL Disboutiquers sent so much AMAZING stuff! I posted some pictures on our PTR.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1880798&page=15

 

[dmbfan]

My son was just granted a wish thru MAW, well when we told him he would be getting a wish, Disney was the first thing on his list. We should be getting a phone call sometime next week for the volunteers to come out and ask my son what he wishes for.

I do have a couple of questions that maybe someone can help me on.

First, once they get the processed started, how long does it usually take to get your dates? Also do they do wish trips during school vacation times, ie for us our school vacation is the third week in Feb, which would be perfect for us ( as my son has already missed alot of school due to being in the hospital) or do those times fill up quick or is that too soon to be able to go?

Also my son is TPN ( IV food) dependant and also on daily IV fluids, is this hard to do if you were to stay a GKTW? Do they have medical people there or are you own your own as if you did not even go thru MAW? How is all of this stuff sent out there for the week, do I have to have it shipped out or will MAW do all of that for us? And last, would we be able to bring my sister as a third set of hands to help with my son? It would only be my son, my daughter who is 9, my son ( the wish child) who is 8 and my husband. Do you think they would let me bring my sister along as she helps us when she can with my son.

Just would like to know some of these before hand so I can ask questions and not look stupid....

Thanks again for any help on this.

 

[mom2lilnick]

Hey Christine! Glad you are here! I am so glad ds is getting a wish. I don't have any advice for you as far as the TPN goes since those days with Nick are long over but I know that there have been some pretty medically complex wish children that have gone and everything has gone smoothly. I can't wait to hear about ds's wish trip and everything that will unfold with it!

Sit back and enjoy the ride!

The dates.. they ask for three sets of days that work for you and try to make it work with those. We got our second set of dates.

 

[ndloewen]

Hi dmbfan,

We are close to the same place as you are in the process. Noah's wish for Disney was just officially made yesterday, so now we are waiting for approval and then we can request dates. Still hoping for Jan/Feb, although that is creeping up quickly! We were told GKTW fills up quickly for holidays, and that Spring Break for us would probably be already full. So we've decided to pull the kids out of school.

Don't have many answers for your questions, however, we did Disneyland with Noah (TPN dependent at the time) this past summer and it went really well. If you do it yourself at home, then you can do it anywhere. If you run into issues, I am sure someone at GKTW could find you the help you need. You can have the company that delivers your TPN ship it directly to GKTW. Probably depends on your wish foundation if you need to arrange it on your own, or if the foundation will make the arrangements. Some foundations allow you to bring a nurse if they deem it medically necessary (not sure if your sister would fit this or not), but those are all good questions for your wish foundation.

Anyways, I know that's not much help, but if you have any specific questions on travelling with TPN, I'd be happy to answer them.

Nichole

 

[maroo]

My son was just granted a wish thru MAW, well when we told him he would be getting a wish, Disney was the first thing on his list. We should be getting a phone call sometime next week for the volunteers to come out and ask my son what he wishes for.

I do have a couple of questions that maybe someone can help me on.

First, once they get the processed started, how long does it usually take to get your dates? Also do they do wish trips during school vacation times, ie for us our school vacation is the third week in Feb, which would be perfect for us ( as my son has already missed alot of school due to being in the hospital) or do those times fill up quick or is that too soon to be able to go?

Also my son is TPN ( IV food) dependant and also on daily IV fluids, is this hard to do if you were to stay a GKTW? Do they have medical people there or are you own your own as if you did not even go thru MAW? How is all of this stuff sent out there for the week, do I have to have it shipped out or will MAW do all of that for us? And last, would we be able to bring my sister as a third set of hands to help with my son? It would only be my son, my daughter who is 9, my son ( the wish child) who is 8 and my husband. Do you think they would let me bring my sister along as she helps us when she can with my son.

Just would like to know some of these before hand so I can ask questions and not look stupid....

Thanks again for any help on this.

I might be able to answer some of these questions...

I am a caregiver for a Wish Teen...Lauren. You can read all about our adventures in our Trip Report...link below. Or watch the video...but get your kleenex for either!

As for dates...it has totally been different for each child...depending on their state and situation. Your doctor has to sign two sets of forms...and then they get dates, etc. I bet they would try to help you and go on a school holiday.


MAW did pay for me to go...although I am not a member of the family. The situation with us, though, was that Lauren's dad is a Type I diabetic, Lauren has her issues (CP, uses a wheelchair full time, basically a quad), and her little brother, William, also has medical problems, too (although he is fully ambulatory). Lauren's mom would not travel without me. She refused.

It is fairly rare for MAW to pay for another person to go. They let me go as a "nurse" to help Lauren. If your sister is trained somehow to help deliver his fluids? or TPN? that may help your case.

You can also "pay" for her to go on your dime...like maybe she could stay with you guys, but you would pay for her tickets? Not sure how that works...but I have seen trips where extended family came, too.


As far as the TPN and fluids...do you guys deliver it? or do you need medical staff? If you need medical staff (ex. dialysis or something like that) they would do that at the hospital that is close by. The hospital is used to doing random treatments for people that visit. They also have doctors offices that may be able to help?

They don't really have medical facilities at GKTW. But you could certainly use your villa for whatever you want or need to do in there.

Also...the parks have GREAT First Aid stations. They have nurses, I think...not sure of their degree or what they can "do" for you. But they have great rooms with exam tables...just like you would find at your doctor's office...that you can use for free.

You can also bring the fluids, TPN, etc in a cooler and store it at First Aid in the parks and just go get it when you need it.

There is a GREAT board on here...disABILITIES...and look at this thread...

Awesome Disabilities Link!!

And there is a wealth of information on there about all kinds of stuff.


AND...we can't wait to meet your family...we have LOTS of kids going on Wish Trips and they have started "pre-trip" reports and put pictures up of their kids, shared plans, etc and gotten hints and help from the other Wish Trip families that are also preparing for their trips! (or have just come back...like us!) Let us know and we can help show you how to write one...or you can just jump right in and start one! (On the "pretrip report" board)

Best of luck to you guys!!!!!



.

 

[LindaBabe]

Maroo, I am so glad you stayed active on this board after Lauren's trip - you have become an invaluable resource for the wish families with your first hand experience. I ,for one, am very grateful you are here!!!!

 

[twinmum]

Hello everyone! I really am still here...just completely snowed under (not the true Canadian way, just way too stressed!) with renovation, boys' school stuff, client work (ooh, actually getting paid!) and starting to think about Christmas...! I want to do a really good job of telling everyone about our trip, so I am waiting a bit, hoping I find a good chink of time soon.

I am trying to check in on the boards every few days, so if I can anwer any questions etc, I am really happy to do so.

Getting excited for those of you going soon!
Alison

 

[AmberGreenawalt]

Maroo, I am so glad you stayed active on this board after Lauren's trip - you have become an invaluable resource for the wish families with your first hand experience. I ,for one, am very grateful you are here!!!!

I could not agree more! Thanks Maroo for sticking around! We love you

 

[Khalana]

I could not agree more! Thanks Maroo for sticking around! We love you

Totally agree too!!!!

 

[maroo]

Maroo, I am so glad you stayed active on this board after Lauren's trip - you have become an invaluable resource for the wish families with your first hand experience. I ,for one, am very grateful you are here!!!!

I could not agree more! Thanks Maroo for sticking around! We love you

Totally agree too!!!!

Aww... you guys are so nice!!!

and I needed that little pick me up, today, too!!!

I am planning on sticking around for quite some time! Hopefully we will get to go again before I FORGET everything I have learned! lol

Wish Trips really are a once in a lifetime deal...they need to be the very best they can be. And that takes planning...and information...and if I can give a little bit to help someone have a better trip...more fulfilling trip...then I sure will. You guys helped us have a more fulfilling trip!!

And...I do plan to finish my trip report soon!!! I have not forgotten that I have not finished it yet. I so wanted to be able to start at Pre-trippie as I was finishing that one...but not to be at this point...but hopefully soon!


.

 

[maroo]

Hello everyone! I really am still here...just completely snowed under (not the true Canadian way, just way too stressed!) with renovation, boys' school stuff, client work (ooh, actually getting paid!) and starting to think about Christmas...! I want to do a really good job of telling everyone about our trip, so I am waiting a bit, hoping I find a good chink of time soon.

I am trying to check in on the boards every few days, so if I can anwer any questions etc, I am really happy to do so.

Getting excited for those of you going soon!
Alison

Yeah, Alison!!

I can't wait to hear about your trip!! I know what you mean...life gets crazy when you get back from vacation anyway...and heap the holidays on top of that...wow!

So...I will bring some popcorn and put on a movie and be excited when we do get to the TR!!

 

[macntosh]

Got some questions:

What time are the rules seminars you must attend at GKTW?

We have an opportunity to stay an extra night, but have to leave GKTW and check in elsewhere. Is it worth the extra effort for another day? I was thinking a fun day at the beach or space center or something might be nice. We get four day park tickets, two day US/IOF and one day sea world, correct?

 

[macntosh]

Another question do you get to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours with the tickets supplied by MAW?

 

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

First, once they get the processed started, how long does it usually take to get your dates? Also do they do wish trips during school vacation times,

It depends on your chapter of MAW. Ours was very understanding about school holidays and such and getting us a time when the little kids would miss minimal school and Meagan would miss none of her first quarter of College. GKTW does fill up fast. We had a date in Oct, one in Nov and one in Dec. Our Oct & Nov dates were full (in Sept) but there was plenty of room for our Dec dates

And last, would we be able to bring my sister as a third set of hands to help with my son? It would only be my son, my daughter who is 9, my son ( the wish child) who is 8 and my husband. Do you think they would let me bring my sister along as she helps us when she can with my son.

Again I think that depends on your chapter. My mom and niece are joining us on Drew's trip on their dime. MAW is not paying for any of their expenses. We were told however, that had we stayed on site they would have allowed them to room with us and if we were a smaller family they could have stayed at GKTW with us, but 7 is the max occupancy for the villas.

Maroo, I am so glad you stayed active on this board after Lauren's trip - you have become an invaluable resource for the wish families with your first hand experience. I ,for one, am very grateful you are here!!!!

I totally agree

Hello everyone! I really am still here...just completely snowed under

Getting excited for those of you going soon!
Alison

Alison I am so glad you're still here I totally understand about the crunch of the season. You have a lot going on right now too. Just make sure to let us know when you find the time to post your trip. I know there's a lot of us with in hand when you have time

 

[LuvGoing2Disney7]

I posted about our latest "Big Give Blessing" on our PTR

Tonight is Drew's Wish Party. I'll try to get at least a few pics up tonight after the kids are in bed. Remember though - I'm on the West Coast

 

[oklamomof4boys]

Got some questions:

What time are the rules seminars you must attend at GKTW?

We have an opportunity to stay an extra night, but have to leave GKTW and check in elsewhere. Is it worth the extra effort for another day? I was thinking a fun day at the beach or space center or something might be nice. We get four day park tickets, two day US/IOF and one day sea world, correct?

I finally found my bunny book, so I can answer questions! Our orientation was at 7:45pm. It took about 45 minutes. The book says they also have one at 9:00am and " each afternoon-check with guest services to find out the time each day".

You get THREE day park hoppers, 2 day US/IOA and one day sea world. If we had had the opportunity, we would have loved to stay an extra day- how many days are you there? GKTW also has some tickets to some other activities- I think space center might be one. I think I would be tempted to hang around GKTW for part of one day ( my boys LOVED it there!) and them maybe go to the beach or something and then save one of your park days (maybe either sea world or US/ IOA if you are going there) for your extra day when you are no longer at GKTW.

 

[oklamomof4boys]

Another question do you get to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours with the tickets supplied by MAW?

We were told no that we didn't get the Extra Magic Hours.

 

[tinytreasures]

Again I think that depends on your chapter. My mom and niece are joining us on Drew's trip on their dime. MAW is not paying for any of their expenses. We were told however, that had we stayed on site they would have allowed them to room with us and if we were a smaller family they could have stayed at GKTW with us, but 7 is the max occupancy for the villas.

thanks for the info
we are still waiting to see if grandma can come with as Jason's PCA since she works here full time with all 3 kido's

on a side note
the doctor's nurse just called and the doctor just signed the papers and sent it back to MAW
hopefully we get our dates soon