08 December 2015

Make-A-Wish



HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF MAKE-A-WISH? WELL, THEY ARE A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!

AT LADYBUG'S LAST CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENT WE WERE APPROACHED BY OUR HOSPITAL SOCIAL WORKER. SHE TALKED TO US ABOUT MAKE-A-WISH, WHAT THEY DID, WHO THEY HELP, ETC. AT THE END OF THE CONVERSATION SHE TOLD US THEY WANTED TO SUBMIT RYLIE FOR A WISH.I THINK THE SHOCK AND THE EXCITEMENT OF THE DAY WAS IN FULL SWING BECAUSE WE VERY CONFUSINGLY SAID OKAY. SHE TOLD US A REPRESENTATIVE FROM MAKE-A-WISH WOULD CALL IN A FEW WEEKS AND SENT US ON OUR WAY.  IT WASN'T UNTIL OUR FAMILY SHOWED UP LATER THAT AFTERNOON AND WE TOLD THEM ABOUT THE CONVERSATION THINGS REALLY STARTED TO SINK IN. SURE ENOUGH A FEW WEEKS LATER MAKE-A-WISH WAS CALLING ASKING ABOUT RYLIE. THEY WANTED TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT HER. WHAT SHE LIKED? HOW SHE WAS FEELING? WE HAD AN AMAZING CONVERSATION, iI LEFT THE CONVERSATION FEELING SO INVIGORATED. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME WE ALL HAD SOMETHING TO BE EXCITED ABOUT! WE WERE SENT SOME PAPERWORK TOLD WE'D MEET OUR WISH GRANTERS IN A COUPLE WEEKS TO TALK ABOUT RYLIE'S WISH AND GET A FEW OTHER SURPRISED FOR HER MOVING ALONG.  

IN JULY WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET OUR WISH GRANTERS AND SOME OF THE STAFF AT THE WISHING PLACE HERE IN SALT LAKE CITY. GOING TO THE WISHING PLACE FOR THE FIRST TIME IS SUCH A SURREAL EXPERIENCE. FROM THE MOMENT YOU OPEN THE DOOR, LITERALLY THE FIRST THING YOU SEE IS SPECIAL. THE FIRST THING YOU SEE IS A STAR, JUST FOR YOU'RE HERO- WELCOMING HER WITH OPEN ARMS. THE STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS ARE THERE FOR HER. THEY HAVE STUDIED HER EVERY WANT AND DESIRE. BEFORE THEY EVEN MET HER THEY KNEW HER. IT WAS BREATHE TAKING TO SEE. SURPRISING HER WITH A LITTLE SOMETHING AT EVERY TURN OF THE CORNER. IT'S A PLACE WHERE SHE CAN GO TO BE A KID. A PLACE TO FORGET ABOUT THE HOSPITAL, THE POKES THE SURGERIES, THE DOCTORS...... FOR A MOMENT NF DISAPPEARS AND YOU SEE YOUR KID BEING JUST THAT, A KID. 

IF BEING CHOSEN AS A WISH KID IS NOT ENOUGH- THESE KIDDOS ARE LITERALLY SHOWERED WITH LOVE FROM THE MOMENT YOU WALK IN THE DOORS. FIRST STEP, MEET YOUR WISH GRANTERS. WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE TWO AMAZING INDIVIDUALS THAT TRULY EMBODY THE MAKE-A-WISH VISION. THEIR STORY, THEIR INVOLVEMENT WITH MAKE A WISH WILL SERIOUSLY BRING TEARS TO YOUR EYES


AFTER SOME BRIEF INTRODUCTIONS WE WERE WHISKED OFF ON A TOUR OF THE MAKE-A-WISH SALT LAKE CITY LOCATION. IT'S ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! THE LAND AND THE BUILDING WERE DONATED BY LOCAL BUSINESSES IN OUR AREA! OUTSIDE IS BEAUTIFULLY LANDSCAPED WITH THIS SPECIAL WISHING POND. A PLACE WE CAN ALWAYS COME BACK TO FOR A LITTLE PEACE. THEY'VE EVEN INVITED US TO HOST HER NEXT BIRTHDAY PARTY THERE! I'M TELLING YOU, THEY VERY MUCH OPERATE AN OPEN DOOR POLICY THERE! 



AFTER OUR TOUR WE HEAD UP TO THE WISHING TOWER! WE DIDN'T WANT RYLIE'S WISH TO BECOME OUR WISH SO WE TRIED TO REALLY TAKE A STEP BACK AND LET THEM WORK THERE MAGIC. SHE'S ONLY THREE AND AT THIS POINT WAS STILL A LITTLE FEARFUL OF ADULTS SHE DIDN'T KNOW BUT THEY HAD SOME AMAZING TRICKS UP THERE SLEEVES. THEY PLAYED A FEW GET-TO-KNOW YOU GAMES WITH HER, RAN AROUND, ATE SOME CANDY, AND GIGGLED A LOT. WITHIN ABOUT 20 MINUTES IT WAS LIKE SHE HAD KNOWN THEM FOREVER. SO, THEY MOVED INTO THE INTERVIEW PROCESS. ASKING HER QUESTIONS THAT WOULD HELP THEM FIGURE OUT THE PERFECT WISH - - - HER FAVORITE COLOR, HER FAVORITE ANIMAL, HER FAVORITE TREAT. HER ANSWERS WERE SO CUTE AND SO VERY TELLING! AFTER A LITTLE BIT OF THE INTERVIEW PROCESS THE QUESTIONS SEEMED TO BE REALLY STUMPING HER SO THEY PULLED OUT SOME FLASH CARDS. A HUGE PLAYGROUND, A PRINCESS BED, A HORSE (THIS IS WHERE DADDY AND MOMMY START GETTING NERVOUS- VISION OF A HORSE IN THE BACK YARD WERE DANCING IN OUR HEADS), A BEACH, AND THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB HOUSE GANG. THEY WENT THROUGH EACH PICTURE WITH HER AND TALKED TO HER ABOUT WHAT EACH PICTURE MEANT. I WISH YOU COULD HAVE SEEN HER REACTION WHEN THEY SHOWED HER THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE GANG! SHE WAS SO EXCITED! SHE GRABBED THE PICTURE AND CLUNG ONTO IT FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. WHEN OUR WISH GRANTERS ASKED HER IF SHE WANTED TO MEET MINNIE MOUSE SHE EXCLAIMED " SHE'S ONLY ON TV!" WE ALL HAD A GOOD LITTLE LAUGH, FOR HER MINNIE MOUSE IS ON TV, THE THOUGHT SHE COULD ACTUALLY BE REAL AND GO AND MEET HER SEEMED TO COMPLETELY BEWILDER HER. SHE WENT ALONG WITH US, BUT YOU COULD TELL SHE THOUGHT WE WERE ALL A LITTLE CRAZY.... AFTER WE SENT OFF RY'S WISH WE HEADED DOWN STAIRS FOR SOME PAPERWORK AND OF COURSE SOME MORE TREATS.

AFTER WE SENT OFF RY'S WISH WE HEADED DOWN STAIRS FOR SOME PAPERWORK AND OF COURSE SOME MORE TREATS. WHILE MOMMY AND DADDY GET THE LEGAL/MEDICAL STUFF OUT OF THE WAY. THE GIRLS ENTERTAINED RYLIE WISH SOME MORE GIFTS AND SOME ROOT BEER FLOATS. BY THE TIME WE LEFT THAT EVENING RYLIE WAS CRYING WHEN WE TOLD HER IT WAS TIME TO GO HOME...


IT TAKES A FEW WEEKS TO APPROVE THE WISH SO WE HAD A LITTLE TIME TO WAIT AND PLAY....
ABOUT THREE WEEKS LATER OUR WISH GRANTERS CALLED AND SAID THEY'D LIKE TO COME OVER AND TALK TO RYLIE- THEY HAD A LITTLE SURPRISE FOR HER! 


SO, HER WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED!!!!!!!!!!!!! DISNEY WORLD HERE WE COME!!!!!! WE HEAD OFF TO ORLANDO IN LATE JANUARY FOR A WEEK OF PURE MAGIC! WE ARE ALL GETTING REALLY EXCITED AND CAN'T WAIT TO MAKE SOME AMAZING MEMORIES! STAY TUNED FOR LOTS OF PICTURES



A SWEET LITTLE SIDE NOTE BECAUSE I LOVE THIS LITTLE GIRL AND HER DADDY SO MUCH! AS PART OF THE WISH PROCESS OUR MAKE-A-WISH STAFF MEMBER, OUR WISH GRANTERS, AND THE TWO OF US GOT TO MAKE A WISH FOR RYLIE. WHAT WE WANTED FOR HER AND HER FUTURE. DADDY'S WISH LITERALLY FILLED MY EYES WISH TEARS! ONE DAY, ONE DAY WE WILL FIND A CURE!