Liam's Wish to go to Disney World

Our family was shocked when our two year old son, Liam, was diagnosed in 2013 with Hunter syndrome, a rare life limiting genetic disorder. We were told there was no cure for this progressive, regressive disease and we just had to take him home and enjoy hm. While we processed this devastating news, we also jumped into action, researching which doctors and medical centers could possibly help our little boy. We made the decision to give him a bone marrow transplant at Dana Farber in Boston. Though not a cure, it could help his body and slow down the inevitable losses that were to come. Our eleven year old daughter was a perfect match and was his donor. We had two out of three of our children in the hospital at the same time going through this procedure: one donating and one receiving. It was physically tough on both of them, and emotionally grueling on our whole family. Liam was in the hospital for months. We had an amazing child life specialist who came in daily to check on Liam, and she recommended him to Make-A-Wish. We had no idea if he would even live through his transplant, and if he did, if he would even be well enough for a wish. Liam spent most of his time confined to bed and watched Disney shows and movies non-stop.

A year later, Liam had not only successfully made it through his transplant, but he was strong enough and immunologically able to travel. Make-A-Wish Georgia had been in contact with us for many months, and finally we were ready for Liam to choose his wish. Since Disney characters on tv had been his only friends for a year, the obvious choice was to go to Disney World and meet some of his favorites. It was the best experience of his life and was so meaningful for our family. After having such a stressful health ordeal, our family really benefitted from spending a week together making memories at Give Kids the World, Disney World, and Universal Studios. The best part of that time was just watching all three of our kids enjoy being kids again, without a single worry for the week. Everyone treated us like royalty, and we all smiled throughout our time there. It was truly magical! Make-A-Wish allowed us to temporarily forget what we had just gone through. Most importantly, Liam’s wish trip reminded us that we were still able to enjoy life together, despite the sadness and future health challenges we were facing.