Make A Wish

We had not told many people that we are planning on going to Disneyland until the pack arrived today.. we are weary over jinxing things in case Dylan gets poorly beforehand but also because sadly, those we have told gave us mixed reactions!

We approached Make A Wish when Dylan turned 3 (the qualifying age) which was shortly after we nearly lost him last Easter..

We were in a bad place and still in hospital when we applied to Make A Wish based on the recommendation of our Clic Sargent worker.. The idea was to give Dylan the chance for something special to celebrate him being so brave and going through so much, plus we also didn't know his prognosis going forward so we wanted something to focus on for the future and to give him some happy memories.

The application was never made just to ''get a free holiday" it was made to give Dylan the chance to ask for something he wanted not us. We weren't even sure what he would ask for, and when the pack first arrived we all found it hard to think of ideas..

The pack they send out is split down into sections such as.. Gift, Day Out, Celebrity Experience, Makeover (e.g. Bedroom), Holiday etc. You have to write something in each individual section of the pack and we really struggled to be honest. He first told us he wanted an iPad but we had already ordered him a similar tablet for the following Christmas. He LOVES theme parks so he said a day out at Legoland, we already had tickets for later in the year! The only 'celebrities' he wanted to meet were all Disney characters (typical three year old) and he wasn't interested in a new bedroom, as he hadn't even spent many nights in his 'new' Disney cars bedroom he moved into with his brother at Christmas when he became poorly. Yes we could have done with a garden makeover maybe but that would have been for us not Dylan and that isn't the way it works.

When we talked about the 'holiday' section it was quite an alien concept to Dylan as he hadn't ever been on a holiday really except to Disneyland when he was a toddler which he didn't remember. We explained what a holiday was but of course Dylan can't travel by plane or even go in the sea or swimming (we didn't know about the dry suits at this point). Then when an advert for Disneyland came on the tv during an ad break he suggested it so we agreed and wrote it down in that section.

We knew that Make A Wish work closely with Disney and often get significant discounts and freebies for these types of wishes, which is why it is such a commonly granted wish that requires little fundraising unlike others. You often see them campaigning for funding a child's wish on their Facebook page for example for things like Spa pools. But even so we didn't expect such a quick response..

When the reps from Make A Wish visited us at home they wrote Disneyland down out of his options straight away. At the time we hadn't been discharged from hospital long and none of the doctors were sure if there would be more lung collapses or even his prognosis short term..  so the whole thing was put on hold to be reviewed early 2017 alongside his CT scan.

FAST forward to February this year and we were prepared to revisit this decision with Dylan's consultant at his review but we didn't get that chance... A few days before his review appointment a letter from Make A Wish turned up stating that his wish to go to Disneyland had been officially granted! Prof. Grundy had already spoken to Make A Wish and said he could go. We had to wait for Bryce to do his SATS in May but the holiday was arranged for us.

Truthfully I cried.. a lot! This is not only a very well deserved treat for Dylan but for all of us.. Bryce has also been so brave and strong in facing the worst thing imaginable, loosing his brother and best friend, and he also has missed out on so much time with his family, having to stay with my parents for almost 2 months solid. We had to cancel our planned holiday to California back in 2016, during which we were supposed to be visiting the Disneyland there and we have no clue if we will ever get to take them now so this is a nice consolation.

When I mentioned we were going to Disney to somebody their first reaction was to say.. "oh through a charity" and that was difficult for me to respond to. I found it extremely hard to admit we needed financial help when Clic Sargent approached us last year. They filled in our DLA forms for us and pointed us in the direction of charities to help us such as Cyclists Fighting Cancer to help with Dylan's physio, SuperShoes, Merlin's Magic Wand and of course Make A Wish.

The thing I was told, particularly about 'Make A Wish' trips, is that it wasn't about the money.. it is, however, about an experience that only they can provide and that it is for the children to feel special and provide a small token to show them how amazing they are and how it absolutely sucks they've had this happen to them.

Yes we could have afforded to do a cheaper version of it ourself next year maybe if we'd have saved (we obliterated our life savings early 2016 travelling and staying in hospital) and if we sacrificed on things such as replacing our garden fence that is literally falling down. We also wouldn't have been able to purchase Merlin annual passes in the sale, for the first time this year, as Disney is only FOUR days out of a whole year of needing to keep three boys entertained. A lot of you know we don't generally go anywhere or do anything 'normal' families do such as soft plays or busy parks because of the risks to Dylan, and truthfully the lack of friends to socialise with these days.

The other common reaction is.. "aren't you lucky" and I assure you it takes all my effort to not be impolite in my response.. because I wouldn't call what we went through 'lucky' at all!! You are welcome to take our tickets and go on the holiday yourself if you take the Cancer and all the bad memories along with it... deal?

The truth is, Make A Wish do not just give out these wishes to everybody that applies. The criteria is quite strict and sadly often only terminal children or children whose quality of life has been severely impacted on, get granted their wishes. The qualification mark for Make A Wish children, as I've shared on a previous post, is quite simply that their life be in jeopardy. Children are either not expected to make it to adulthood or that their illness could take their life without warning. And despite how well Dylan is doing now since last Easter he does still fit into that category.

So before you feel that tinge of jealously, or pass an ill thought out comment.. please ask yourself which would you rather have? A holiday to somewhere such as Disneyland? Or to not live in fear every single day that your child is going to die like I do? And ask yourself, haven't our boys been through absolute hell? Do you not think they deserve this? Truthfully we all need this holiday right now to make some new happy memories to outweigh the bad ones.. <3