A few months ago, I
wrote an
article about my life with Congenital Heart Disease. Throughout my
experiences with CHD within itself, I have had been granted with several life
experiences that stand out for me. The biggest moment for me was when I had my
wish granted from the Make-a-Wish Foundation, one of my favourite charities to
this day.
The Make-a-Wish
Foundation’s mission statement is:
“The mission of
Make-A-Wish® Canada is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening
medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.”
And a little bit about
the organization:
“Along with the
national office, eight regional chapters grant magical wishes to children in
need from coast-to-coast. Make-A-Wish Canada is an affiliate of Make-A-Wish®
International, the largest wish-granting organization in the world, making dreams
and wishes come true for more than 350,000 children since 1980.”
I remember one day
when I was in grade eight, I was home from school with a cold. My dad told me
to apply for a wish on a whim, not actually expecting that they would ever consider me. About a week later, I
got called down to the principal’s office because my parents had something very
important to tell me. Of course, my anxiety rose higher and higher as most
children’s do when called to the principal’s office. It was my dad on the other
end of the line, telling me about how he had received a phone call asking about
it. They explained that they would have to receive some documentation from my
cardiologist and then I would have someone come talk to me about what I wanted
for a wish.
I remember not having
any clue, and consulting people because I didn’t know what I wanted. I remember
at one point, I thought that it’d be cool to have a big party but it was for
the wrong reasons (I wanted to be considered “cool”). Then, my “wish granters”
suggested that I ask for a room makeover; which again, wasn’t a good idea because
I was moving in a few years. Finally, a long consultation with my parents, we
decided something Disney related as my parents could never afford to take me to
Disney World since they were constantly missing work for my appointments.
Therefore, their money went directly to paying bills instead of taking me cool
places.
I chose a Disney
cruise with my parents and cousin, Petra. Once we decided where I was going and
since I was going on an international trip, Make-a-Wish Foundation required
permission from my cardiologist to travel. I specifically remember the day that
my mom received the fax approving the travel for my trip. It read Felicity has congenital heart disease. She
has a life-threatening illness and may not live until she is eighteen years old.
I also remember feeling absolutely destroyed reading that message, and crying.
That was kind of the moment that I realized how sick I truly was from my CHD.
However, the plus was that I was going to go away with my parents and cousin.
Leading up to the
trip, I got a huge package from Make-a-Wish Foundation with t-shirts from the
organization to wear on my flight, carry-on luggage, stuffed animals and a card
explaining how excited they were for me to go. Additionally, I was in the local
newspaper for getting my wish granted.
On October 17, 2008, I
ventured out for my wish. I had to get up at 4:00 am to get to the airport on
time. When we got to the airport, I met with a reporter from Make-a-Wish who
took pictures of my family and I. As well, I had the absolute pleasure of
meeting the executive team for the company who sponsored my trip. Once we got
onto the plane, I had to hang onto Petra’s hand for the whole take off because
I had never been on a plane before. The landing was a little bit better.
For seven days, I
traveled throughout the Caribbean. I saw Key West, FL, Cozumel, Mexico, Grand
Cayman, Cayman Islands and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. It was the best
trip ever! However, my mom and Petra decided to take their seasickness bands
off halfway through the trip and got such bad motion sickness that they spent
an evening crawling around our room from being sick. Clearly, my dad and I knew
the smart thing was to leave those bands on… haha!
On the last day of the
cruise, I got to go up onto the deck and meet the captain of the ship as well
as Captain Mickey. That evening, we went to the closing show and Goofy picked
me out of the crowd, made me stand up and hug him and gave me kisses. To this
day, we’re unsure if it was just a freak accident or if it was the person in
the Mickey Mouse costume. However, it was one of the most emotional parts of
the entire trip.
I am so incredibly
blessed to have love and support from so many different groups of people;
family, friends, doctors and nurses. If it wasn’t for them, I would never have
had the opportunity to travel with my family. Thank you to my mom and dad for
always doing whatever I’m up for, even if it means we’re travelling on a boat
through the world. Thank you to Petra for coming and being my trip buddy. Thank
you again to my mom and Petra for tolerating the trip, even though you two died
of sea sickness. I am so lucky to have so much love in my life.
No comments :
Post a Comment