Channing's wish to go to Disney World & Jakob's wish to go to Hawaii

The day after Channing was diagnosed with leukemia, he had surgery for his first chemotherapy treatment and port placement. During the procedure, a social worker explained that he qualified for Make-A-Wish. At first, I was stunned. "He's not going to die, right?" She explained that Make-A-Wish grants wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses, and leukemia qualified.

Over the next 3 years of treatment, I felt weird about getting a wish. Channing was responding well to treatment, while many families faced even greater challenges. Yes, our son had cancer, enduring countless procedures that made him miss out on being a typical child, but compared to so many others, I felt we were fortunate.

After years of different ideas, Channing wished to meet Buzz Light year. His wish was granted to go to Disney World and stay at Give Kids The World.

Amazing isn't even a strong enough word to describe our trip. It was a time to reconnect as a family after years of tag-teaming. Seeing our kids light up and simply be kids, playing at an amusement park instead of in a hospital, meant the world to me. I spent many moments tearing up as I watched the joy on my children's faces that cancer couldn't touch. I came home from that trip with a much-needed emotional and physical boost. I was, and still am, so thankful to Make-A-Wish for those forever memories.

Unfortunately, a year later we were back in the hospital, this time with Jakob, Channing's identical twin brother. We were told, "It looks like leukemia. There is a bed waiting in the oncology wing at the Children's Hospital." My heart broke knowing a second child would face the same indescribable journey.

Over the next 3 years of Jakob's treatment, during the hard times, we focused on the joy and happiness we felt during Channing's wish. A wish couldn't take away the pain, but it planted hope in us again. Hope that even though this was another nightmare, Jakob would get a wish and I would get to see that childlike joy take root in him once again.

There is huge power in a wish. A wish has the power to transform. It takes a solemn room and turns it into a hopeful one. It gives parents a way to pull themselves and their child out of a funk and talk about a time when cancer doesn't matter, a time when kids get to be kids.

Ultimately, Jakob chose to go to Hawaii and swim with dolphins. Once again, because of Make-A-Wish we watched our children simply be kids. Those trips didn't erase cancer, but they gave our family precious memories, renewed hope, and moments of healing that have lasted long after treatment ended. Years later, we still look back on both wishes with immense gratitude for the joy they brought during the hardest seasons of our lives.