Why Disney?

Why am I doing a marathon at Disney, you might ask?  Or I might ask myself, actually...  I have not heard great things about Disney, honestly.  You have to get up at 2 am; they truck you out to the middle of nowhere, where they drop you off and you stand around for hours waiting for the race to start; the start is very slow and crowded (not that that matters to a plodder like me); last year, it was about 20 degrees at the start, I heard; in 2007, I heard they were actually running out of water at the water stops around mile 19 and 20 (um, hello... it's Florida.  Please give us something to drink!). 


But, even with all of that, I just want to run Disney.  I want to run through Cinderella's castle.  I want to experience the crowds, running around the parks.  Plus, Disney holds a very special place in my family's hearts, and here is why:

See, we visited Disney with Abby almost five years ago exactly.  When Abby was diagnosed with ALL, she was granted a "Wish" through the very wonderful Special Wish Foundation.  Since Abby was only 2 when she went through the worst parts of her chemo, she was not really old enough to make a "wish", and we definitely wanted to wait until she was older and either done with treatment, or mostly done, to do something.  However, we had to pick what her wish would be early, so we wished for her to take a trip to Disney World.


When she was 4 1/2, she was done with all of her chemo, and she had surgery to have her port removed from her chest.  Perfect time for a trip to celebrate!  We were treated to the trip to Disney World, including a limo ride to and from the airport and tons of special treatment all along the way.  We got to stay, completely at no charge, at another very special place, Give Kids the World Village.  My parents paid for themselves to come with us, and visit all of the parks with us.  We had an awesome week in October of 2005, with Abby healthy and surrounded by those she loves, having fun and eating as much free ice cream as she wanted every day, and meeting those beautiful Disney princesses! 

And that pink badge she is wearing in the pictures above?  It was a badge that identified her to the Disney cast members as a kid on her "wish trip".  It was a little disconcerting to be given so much special treatment, knowing that Abby was doing well and her prognosis was excellent; but this button meant Abby was bumped to the front of every line, and treated like a princess herself, and for a week I allowed us all to be pampered a little bit, figuring in the grand scheme of things, we deserved a bit of a break as a family after going through treatment.  Watching the final fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom on our last night there, with Tinkerbell flying over our heads while "When You Wish Upon A Star" played, seeing Abby up on her Daddy's shoulder's gazing at the fireworks and light... well, Disney truly is a magical place for kids and parents alike, even cynical old Moms like me :). 

It was hard for me to remember that it's been 5 years since we got to accompany Abby on her Wish Trip.  I was looking for Disney pictures in Picasa today, and kept wondering why I couldn't find the pictures in the 2007 folder!  Wow, 2005...  5 years ago.  In May we celebrated Abby having her five-year-off-chemo anniversary!  To leukemia survivors, this 5 year mark is a certifiable Big Deal.  Although the docs will not usually say the words, you are CURED.  Hallelujah...

So, if you are Mr. Money Bags just happening to stumble across this lowly little blog, or Bill & Melinda Gates looking to unload a cool few million or so, once you make a weetle donation to my fund-raising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ;-) here:  http://pages.teamintraining.org/soh/wdw11/jfasnacht, don't forget our good friends at A Special Wish and Give Kids The World Village.  God Bless...