From Fear to Family Fun
By Wish Mom Melissa
When Richie was diagnosed with a genetic disorder, it was traumatizing. He was our miracle baby, and he was a perfect little baby. His eyes started becoming this shade of yellow and as his mom, I knew that something was wrong... he was diagnosed shortly after. Those first few weeks of tests being run, treatment plans being discussed, I did a lot of crying.
But you have no other choice, so you just get through it and do it.
We thought he could wait to have a transplant until he was a teenager, but his liver was getting so bad so fast, so it was unexpected for me and my husband. Receiving that news was the most scared I have been in my entire life; thinking of what he was about to endure, the 'what if's' if the surgery didn't go according to plan. The first time they called to say they had a match; I didn't answer the phone because of all the fear that I had about this surgery.
When we were told Richie had a living donor, and that we could reach out to them by our social worker, I wrote a thank you letter at Richie's bedside post operation. We were so emotional and knowing that the donor would be receiving this letter, and it just made this horrifying experience so much better for me and for Richie. When the two of them were able to meet in person, it was like meeting a star.Â
Richie’s social worker came to me one morning in the hospital to say that Richie was eligible to have his wish granted by Make-A-Wish. And of course, I, like many other people, was under the impression that the organization was only for terminally ill children. But she explained that it was for children with critical illnesses, like Richie. Â
I didn't think we would hear back for a while, and I was wrong again. We heard back from the Make-A-Wish team so quickly, and before we knew it, we had plans to go on his wish to Walt Disney World Resort for his birthday! Richie was telling everyone.Â
Richie's favorite part of being at Walt Disney World was getting to meet Donald Duck. I had bought him a pair of sneakers with Donald on them, and as soon as we walked into the park, Donald and Daisy were there on a balcony. Donald saw Richie's sneakers and started blowing kisses and making air hearts and Richie was so happy and excited. Â
For me and my husband, we were amazed how everything exceeded our expectations. I had that lump in my throat, right before you cry, throughout the trip because of how beyond grateful I was for everything that was done for Richie after going through so much. It was amazing, and he had an amazing 6th birthday.