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Helen Carter
Administrator
United Kingdom
207 Posts |
 Posted - 09/10/2009 : 11:08:36
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Hi All
I have recently applied to two organisations who offer children with life threatening diseases the chance to make a wish come true. Hollie would love to go to disneyland in Florida. We went to Paris last year and she hasn't stopped talking about it ever since. We have been encouraged by many people to apply whilst Hollie remains relatively well so that we can have lasting memories of a magical family holiday. I have so far applied to "make a wish foundation" and "starlight". Has anyone had any experience of the application process? Any other suggestions for who we could approach?
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carlhenry01
Junior Member
United Kingdom
187 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2009 : 13:25:37
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Hi, we are going on a florida holiday with another NP-C child and her family along with another 53 families with differing conditions. It's being provided by a charity called child flights based at manchester airport. We were offered a holiday a few times after diagnosis but declined on misplaced pricipal at first. Then we came to the realisation that these organisations do this for a reason......To make memories!!!
Get Holly what you can and make some everlasting memories at the expense of these people who really are saint's.
Carl.
Carl burdon
(Proud father of Calum) |
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Tania
New Member
67 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2009 : 14:09:06
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Hi Helen
Starlight took us to lapland to meet Santa and it was brilliantly organised, nothing was too much trouble and you weren't made to feel you were making a fuss or getting something for nothing. We were amazed how many families have gone on loads of holidays with different charities. I would say go for it for you children, apply to everyone you can and keep those memories close. Carl is absolutely right these people are great and this is why they do it, for the children and for making the memories. There are also lots of links on the NPD website of charities which do holidays. |
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Helen Carter
Administrator
United Kingdom
207 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2009 : 15:22:04
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Hi Tania
Lapland sounds magical and is a place I have always wanted to take the kids, but as Hollie is scared to death of father christmas I don't think I could get her off the plane!!! I am hoping in a few years she will grow to love him and we can take her there.
Thank you to both you and Carl for your comments and suggestions. I will try and apply to as many as possible because whether I like to accept it or not Hollie does have NPC and won't be well forever so we need to make the memories whilst we can. |
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carlhenry01
Junior Member
United Kingdom
187 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2009 : 16:32:09
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Hi.........some or most organisation's like these do have a criteria which usually includes having had a wish granted before. My advice would be to aim high at first.
Carl.
Carl burdon
(Proud father of Calum) |
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kait pyne
Starting Member
United Kingdom
43 Posts |
Posted - 17/10/2009 : 07:30:31
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Hi Helen ,
Go for the " biggest and best " Hollie deserves it. Annie had a wish granted through Starlight they were so kind and sympathetic and nothing was too much trouble. We all had such a wonderful time and were made to feel very special, but the best bit for us is the memory of watching Annie's face full of joy and happiness.Priceless .
Kait x |
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Fiona
Starting Member
United Kingdom
8 Posts |
Posted - 23/10/2009 : 00:00:03
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Hi all, we have just put in an application to Make a Wish foundation, to take the kids to Lapland. I'll let you know how we get on with it. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has been on this trip to find out how it is organised and what facilities there are. Harry has very little mobility so it would be helpful to have a picture of what to expect. He used to be scared of Santa but found him highly amusing last year, so would love to get him to such a magical place.
Hope you all well.
Fiona (mum to Harry, Grace and Emily) x |
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Helen Carter
Administrator
United Kingdom
207 Posts |
Posted - 23/10/2009 : 09:36:31
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Hi Fiona
Its lovely to hear from you! We have applied to Make a Wish as well and so far have just got to the acknowledgement stage where they have written saying that they need to check Hollie fits the criteria of "living with a life-threatening illness". Probably because they have never heard of NPC before but they should get clarification from her consultant. Hollie really wants to go to Disneyland in Florida but not sure if we might be asking too much with that! I also wanted to take her and Josh to lapland but like Harry was, she is still scared of Santa!! Hopefully this year as she is that little bit older he will be less frightening!!
Really hope they grant your wish xx I am sure Tanya has been to lapland so she will be able to post on her experiences x |
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Tania
New Member
67 Posts |
Posted - 25/10/2009 : 22:43:26
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Hi Fiona
We have been to Lapland however it was with Starlight so it will probably be arranged differently. I would expect that you will all go on one plane though and as for mobility, it is impossible to push a wheelchair on snow but they used sledges on our trip. I believe they were bumpy but thats to be expected, there were also plenty of people to bring the sledges whereever and for lifting. We went on short coach journeys everywhere. Let me know if you have any questions I may be able to answer, I am sure you will love it though! |
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carlhenry01
Junior Member
United Kingdom
187 Posts |
Posted - 16/11/2009 : 18:42:36
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Hi all.......
We have just returned from a fabulous holiday in Florida. We went along with 54 other families so the whole plane was our own really. Both Emma and myself were a little apprehensive beforehand because its not everyday you go on holiday with 300 strangers! With the exception of a family we knew with the same condition that is.
It was extremeley well organised and the team leaders were fantastic. We were split into different coloured teams (orange was ours) red,green and blue made up the rest. Each team had a doctor, two nurses and two other helpers/carers. The carers/helpers were made up of the flight crew who travelled with us (including the pilot and first officer!). The flight crew were using unpaid leave for the duration so they were stars! we had a day at Magic kingdom then a day at gatorland followed by a day at universal studios. We the had a day of rest to recharge ourselves and to relax around the pool etc. A shopping trip to the local centre in Kissimee was next on the agenda. The following day we went to the EPCOT centre followed by a day at hollywood studios. Another rest day was most welcomed then a last outing to seaworld. All brilliantly organised and executed. The holiday was simply brilliant......I have travelled quite a lot but this meant much more and the families all mucked in in. There was nobody standing on ceremony thinking they were above everybody else. Although the children had varying conditions they all had one thing in common...they all enjoyed themselves. In a way it was heart wrenching to watch all these brave little kids enjoying themselves with the dolphins and sealions and Mickey mouse etc.....you would have to be pretty tough not to just shed a little tear thinking about their future.
All in all it turned out to be a fantastic time and we have some gret memories of Calum. The circumstances of going on one of these is not great but they are there for a purpose. Anybody who is contemplating one, my advice would be to go for it. The families we met all had a story to tell and were very friendly to everyone else.
Every credit to Childflights who organised our trip. Thank you so much giving us some memories.
Carl burdon
(Proud father of Calum) |
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Helen Carter
Administrator
United Kingdom
207 Posts |
Posted - 17/11/2009 : 21:21:35
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Hi Carl
I have been looking at some of the pictures coming up on Facebook and it looks like the kids all had a great time. I am sure some wonderful memories were made.
We received a letter from Make a Wish back in October just stating that they are now looking into whether or not Hollie meets the criteria of living with a life threatening illness - the rarity of NP again! We had to release Hollie's consultant details so no doubt they will gather the info they need and hopefully get back to us soon. I will keep you posted. |
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Helen Carter
Administrator
United Kingdom
207 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2010 : 22:35:04
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Hi All
Just to let you know that we were delighted to hear this week that Make a Wish Foundation are going to grant Hollie a wish to disneyland in Florida. We are all so excited! Go in September x |
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hayley
Starting Member
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2010 : 23:07:54
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We are in the process of fundraising to send my Grandson Lleyton age 3 with N-PC to disneyland. We have wrote to Make a wish, and they wanted consultant reports also in regards to meeting the criteria, however they have also stated it has to Lleytons wish and sent him a form to fill in, draw on or cut pictures out and stick on as they want it to be his wish and not influenced, this really upset his parents as he cannot even speak his own name, never mind do what they are asking. They are sending someone to see him but we are unsure how long this process will take and if this particular wish to be granted, and we really don't want to waste any time.
Childflight are brilliant and i was in the red group when we went with them as a family when my son, Lleytons dad had cancer at the age of 15, that was 8 years ago and Pauline Sutherland and her Husband 'Doc' Sutherland were fantastic and would recommend nominating your children or others for this holiday.
They go every other year and fundraise inbetween to raise the 250,000+ pounds it cost on top of the stuff that is donated, i.e. disney tickets. They do an amazing job.
hayley coombes |
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Helen Carter
Administrator
United Kingdom
207 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2010 : 11:12:20
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Hi Hayley
Don't be too put off by the fact that Make a Wish have asked that it be Lleytons wish and no influence. It doesn't really apply to younger children as they accept that they cannot always communicate their own wishes.They sent us exactly the same forms. The coordinators just come round and ask you what he likes etc. I got a bit hung up on this as well. Hollie was mad about High School Musical and Disney. We had been to Paris and I thought it would be too much to ask for Florida (even though I knew there was a High School musical parade in Florida and that Hollie would just love it) but Make a Wish came back to me saying that they were unable to grant Hollie's first wish to meet Gabrielle from the High School film and they mentioned the High School Parade in Paris. When I said we had been to Paris they suggested Florida which will be a dream come true for Hollie and her older brother as she just loves everything disney and she gets to see the High School parade at the same time! Its all about making memories for your family and if you know there is something Lleyton would love then don't be afraid to let them know x They are a fantastic organisation who will do everything they can to make Lleytons dreams come true x |
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Fiona
Starting Member
United Kingdom
8 Posts |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 21:54:54
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| Hi Hayley and Helen, we have just had Grace's wish granted to go to Disneyland Paris. We were a bit worried about the forms to, but the people who came round to see us were fantastic and understood completely that Grace and Harry were unable to communicate their wishes, they just went on what we knew they would enjoy and make them happy. The people who come along are lovely (volunteers) fantastic people and it was a lovely meeting. We haven't set a date to go yet, hopefully May would suit, but we are struggling with whether Harry would be up to the trip. He's been so unwell over the winter with chest problems and I'm not sure how we would get him there as he is unable to sit unaided. We are also struggling with wheelchair services to get him a wheelchair that supports him so that we can get him out and about, (another issue I know). If anyone has had similar experience of negativity with wheelchair services I'd be grateful for input. I'm at my whit's end today and don't know where to turn. We would love to take him with us on holiday but his seating just isn't right. So pleased for you Holly and the family. Good luck Helen, I've no doubt your wish will be granted, the foundation have been fantastic with us. Much love Fiona x |
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Fiona
Starting Member
United Kingdom
8 Posts |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 21:56:45
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| Ooops meant good luck Haley, head not working properly today !! x |
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Make a Wish organisations
