~*Planning and Arrival*~

Make A Wish foundation is an incredible organization that truely made Dillon's wish come true.
These next few pages, will tell you all about how this all came to be and about our WONDERFUL experience thanks to the Make A Wish Foundation!

Pictures will be coming VERY soon so stay tuned! =)

We received a phone call telling us Dillon had been nominated by one of his case workers and asked us if we would be willing to accept.
I was stunned at first, not knowing what to say. I always thought that Make A Wish was for children with life threatening illnesses. Dillon had been through a lot medically, but his illness is not life threatening. I learned, that Make A Wish is not only for terminal children, but also for children that have been through so much medically, that they have not been able to lead a normal childhood life due to all the surgeries and medical treatments that are required of their condition.
Dillon definetely fit into this category. He is only 4 years old, and has had 17 surgeries and receives therapy (PT, OT and speech ) a total of 4 times a week now.

I gladly accepted the nomination and within acouple weeks, very nice volunteers by the names of Jane Phillips and Mark and Helena Newson came over to our house to ask Dillon what his wish was.
They brought over a cake and Make A Wish shirts for us as well. Dillon was a tad shy at first, but told them he wanted to go see Mickey Mouse and Pooh Bear.

The next week, we received a phone call saying Dillon's wish was approved, and we would be heading to Disney World on January 29th. The kids were SO excited. The trip was over a month away, but they made a count down calendar, and every day tore off the peice of paper getting them closer to the day when we would leave.

A few days before we would be leaving for Florida, Make A Wish with the help of Chi Omega sorority in Omaha, hosted a farewell party for us. We were told we could invite friends and family etc so I invited most of my family to come. I had NO idea it would be such a wonderful huge event! This organization just is so fabulous in everything they do to make you feel special. The party was full of people. We had Pizza and cake and then the kids received so many gifts, it was like another christmas! They got a lot of Disney gifts, books, colors and coloring books etc for the plane to keep them busy, and also beach towels, sunglasses etc. It was so amazing everything they got. The kids were so excited. I received Mickey mouse book ends and a picture frame was well. They are very cute!
At this party, we were given all the plans/agenda of what we would be doing on our trip. Dillon's wish was to see Mickey Mouse and the kids were so excited to be going to Disney World.
I was given a gift bag which had our flight plans and let us know that we would be picked up in a LIMO to ride to the airport! I couldnt believe it. I had never even been in a limo before, so that was exciting for even me. Also, not only would we be going to Disney World, but they were giving us tickets to Universal and Seaworld too! WOW!
Everything would be paid for, and on top of that, they gave us a very large amount of cash for food and snacks as well as spending cash for the kids to buy souveniers, etc.
I was so overwhelmed, and I was speechless. It was like I was dreaming. I absolutely could not wait till we went on this trip. I think sometimes, I was even more excited then the kids. We had been through so much, and life had been so stressful the last few years. It was just hard to believe we would get a week to completely enjoy ourselves with no worries!
THANK YOU MAKE A WISH!!

January 29th arrived. We could barely get to sleep the night before, everyone was so excited. We were picked up in a white Limo at 8am. I was worried the trip wasn't going to go well, when I woke up realizing I had forgotten Dillon's wheelchair in our van, which was at my dad's station to be repaired while we were on our trip. Our limo driver was very kind and took us out there to get it before we headed to the airport! wheww what a relief. Something we could not have done without on the trip!
We got to Eppley airport, and found out our trip on United Airlines had been cancelled. Talk about a panic attack! Luckily, we were able to be re-routed on American Airlines, going through Dallas and then into Orlando. The flight ended up being about 45 minute less time due to no long lay over between flights, so it worked out ok.

When we got to Dallas, we began walking to our next terminal to catch our plane. We only had about 20 minutues and didn't realize how far the gates were from each other. A very nice lady that went by the name "squeaky" came by with car and picked us up to take us to our gate. Luckily, the flight was running a tad late for departure, so we had a chance to grab some food before getting on the next plane.
Squeaky set it up with the airline to get us onto the plane first where we got a lot of special treatment. The pilot let the kids sit in the cock pit with him and he showed them what all he had to do to fly a plane and let us take pictures. It was so cool and the kids were so excited. Then we sat down, where they gave us a snack and something to drink and also gave us all a headset for free, to listen to the music. We were on the plane about 15 min before they even started boarding, so we were able to get settled and pretty comfy.

We arrived into Orlando where we were being met by a volunteer from "Give kids the world village" where we would be staying throughout our stay. I hadn't even thought about letting them know our flight had changed, so it took a bit to track her down and let her know we made it safe. She took us to our rental mini van and gave us directions to the village, and then we were on our way!

The kids were getting pretty ansy at this point. The airport had Mickey statues and they were beginning to realize we were really there, and the adventure was about to begin!
We got to the Village.. what a WONDERFUL place! I can't say enough about this place. It was definetely a once in a lifetime experience that we will NEVER forget!
The village had enough there to keep us busy for a week without even having to go anywhere!

We checked in, and went to where we would be staying. A private "Villa" which was a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom with a whirlpool tub, full kitchen full of food and snacks for us even, and a washer and dryer.
It was a very nice place and we were right across the street from a little pond with a fountain. It was really pretty.
The village had an ice cream store where you could go to get free ice cream any time of the day. A movie theatre, a train station with lots of miniature trains and a train for the kids to ride. and the Gingerbread house was where we ate a free breakfast and dinner everyday. The house looked just like a gingerbread house and inside, the tables were made with real round peppermint candies. It was so neat!
There was a building called the "Castle of miracles". It had a wishing well that made neat sound effects, and all the stars on the ceiling were names of kids that have been to the village. Dillon got to put one up there too, and it will be up there forever.
The castle also had a carosel for the kids to ride, and a huge playroom full of lots of toys etc.
The night we arrived we attended an orientation to explain all the tickets we would be receiving for our trip, and then we hung out in the village, went to bed early to prepare for Magic Kingdom trip in the morning!

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Graphics by:
Texas Lady Graphics
Bill's Disney Graphics