In early June after school had just ended for CJ, I took all the kids down to FL for CJ's "Wish" trip. When Make-A-Wish first contacted us, I was kind of shocked because I was always under the assumption that Make-A-Wish only granted wishes to kids who were terminally ill but that wasn't the case. You can read about CJ's cancer story in a post that I wrote back in October of last year. A Make-A-Wish representative came out to our house and interviewed CJ awhile back and his wish was to go to Disney World! Well, we went on this much anticipated trip this summer to celebrate CJ's remission from cancer and I was completely amazed and humbled by the whole experience.
First of all, it was a week long once in a lifetime all expenses paid trip to Orlando and we could frequent any theme park while we were there if we wanted to but there just wasn't enough time to do it all in a week. We stayed at a wish village resort for kids called "Give Kids The World" in Kissimmee, FL just 20 minutes away from all the theme parks. If you've never heard of it before, please check out the website, www.gktw.org. This resort for kids is like a wonderland theme park for kids in itself. We stayed in a wonderful villa fully equipped with everything we needed and every building at the resort was intended to give kids oooos and awes. One of the restaurants was called the "Gingerbread House" and it literally looked like a gingerbread house. The whole place was amazing, filled with volunteers to serve the wish child and family.
The kids were all stoked as you can imagine when we arrived! CJ and his little brother and sister were showered with gifts upon arrival at the welcome center and I will never forget the smile on CJ's face as he was given a stuffed Mickey that was later signed by Mickey later in the week. "Give Kids The World" is definitely a piece of heaven on earth. The place and the people that serve there give families encouragement, faith, and hope. After the kids and I got settled into the villa we went for a walk around the place and the kids faces just lit up at everything they saw. As much as I enjoyed the experience with them, I couldn't help but see a few wish kids that looked very frail and sick. My heart dropped at the sight of one of the kids with his family when CJ and I opened the door for them upon entering the Gingerbread House for dinner.
As happy and as excited I was for CJ and our family, I couldn't help but watch this little boy who was probably about 5 years old guessing by his height. You could tell he was really weak and that the chemo had taken its toll on his weight. The sight of him reminded me of the photo album that sits on a table at the Blume Children's Cancer Clinic in Charlotte, filled with kids that have come through the clinic but knowing that some of them didn't make it. I was struck with sadness but saw the strength in his parent’s smiles. CJ of course noticed right away that this particular boy looked very sick and he started asking me consecutive questions in a whisper, "Daddy, what's wrong with him? Is he going to live? Is he going to be OK?"
I told CJ that I didn't know but we can pray for him. When you see a little boy like that fighting for his life, it makes all the other worries and challenges in life very miniscule and brings perspective. It also reminded me that I've lived a life that some kids only dream about but never get a chance to experience. The love in that place was seen everywhere and the elderly people who volunteered there time to help you with your trays, bring you whatever you needed, was a very heart-warming experience. There just aren’t enough words I can write to describe what it was like to be there.
The kids and I thoroughly enjoyed the activities and events that took place at Give Kids The World and one of these days, we will go back to see CJ's star placed on the wall or ceiling in the "Castle of Miracles" with the other 100,000 wish kids' stars who have walked through this amazing place. The kids and I didn't have to wait in any lines at the theme parks and both CJ and Tyler got to fight Darth Vader which was one of the highlights of the trip. We got a chance to feed the dolphins at Sea World, hang out in the "Wish Lounge" at Disney to take a break from the extreme heat, and Madison got to meet all the princesses to her delight!
In fact, we got to meet many of the Disney characters when they came to visit at Give Kids The World. It was also very nice to have my mom, step-dad, and brother up there with us for a few days. The whole experience and getting to see CJ's wish fulfilled was awesome! We had a blast and will never forget it!
After the grand week was over and we were home, I picked up the book, "Gift of Life" to read about the man who founded Give Kids the World, Henri Landwirth. He went after donations to make this resort so that no child will ever die again without seeing their wish to meet Mickey realized. The words that came off the page relative to the GKTW resort had me in tears because we had just experienced much of what he had to say in this book and I also learned about a child who came to the resort, saw Mickey, and then passed. It all gives us more reason to celebrate life and make it count today because we never know if our end will be tomorrow.
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