There are few things more exciting than looking forward to lunch plans with your best friends. Gabbie agrees – and her dream lunch date just happened to be with Disney princesses.
For a girl who’s bravely handled leukemia at a young age, the lunch plans on the calendar meant the world. What’s more, her princess lunch would take her all the way to Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida. Looking forward to her wish coming true carried Gabbie through all the ups and downs of a tough illness.
The Isolation of Illness
“I just didn’t feel good anymore,” she said. “I had to ride in an ambulance. I stayed at the hospital. I had to miss preschool for the whole year and I didn’t get to make new friends. I had to have lots of needles and medicines. It was not good. I was lonely and sad. I missed out on a lot of fun.”
Volunteers and staff at Make-A-Wish Minnesota got to work on planning a wish that would make up for all that lost fun. Gabbie and her family flew to warm and sunny Florida, where they stayed at the Give Kids the World village, soaked up every available bit of Disney magic, and met every princess Gabbie ever dreamed of meeting.
“It was always my dream to go on an airplane, and before I got leukemia, I thought about going to Disney World and I had dreams about it,” Gabbie said. “I always wanted to go where the princesses live.”
A Huge Lift for a Happy Mom
Gabbie’s mom, Kathy, loved the opportunity to watch her daughter enjoy her wish and forget about ambulances and hospitals for a few days.
“Our trip was truly magical,” Kathy said. “Gabbie loved every part. She stayed healthy and we truly put cancer on the backburner for that week.”
Disney is proud to be a long-time supporter of Make-A-Wish®. We celebrate all that Disney has done – and continues to do – to transform the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Make-A-Wish grants more than 14,000 wishes each year. Nearly 7,000 of them involve Disney’s help. Thank you, Disney, for helping to grant empowering wishes like Gabbie's.
