Wish Approved!

Got a call last night from K letting us know that Maddox's wish has been approved! Super exciting! He also had dates for us, but unfortunately we can't go those dates. It falls on Bailee's dance recital and Maddox's pre-surgery heart cath. So, I have a call into the travel coordinator and hopefully will hear back today. We probably won't get to stay at Give Kids The World, but we will still get to participate in all the activities there. So hopefully we'll have  more news later today.

Maddox meets K and K

Maddox's wish granters K and K came over tonight. It was fun to meet them and talk with them about what Maddox is wishing for. They brought Maddox a stuffed Pluto, they heard through the grapevine that he calls himself Pluto, and Bailee got some way cute Minnie Mouse sunglasses.

I was worried that the kids would be a little shy, but they were great. Maddox officially gave his Wish. He said "I see Mickey?" I had told them earlier he had asked if he could eat noodles with Mickey, so they suggested writing down eating with Mickey as well. He also needs a 2nd wish in case the 1st one doesn't get approved. (Because we've already talked about this with Dr. P, there should not be a problem with it getting approved.) After talking we decided on a Mickey Clubhouse. We asked Maddox if he would like a Mickey Clubhouse he said "No, I see Mickey?" We told him yes he can see Mickey but would you like a Mickey Clubhouse? Of course he said yes.

 So we filled out the paperwork and they will submit it and then will schedule a time for Maddox to go to the Wishing Tower to make a wish and have it granted. He really has no concept of time, so the waiting will be hard. But, once we have dates we'll make a countdown chain or something. We are hoping for the 1st or 2nd week of May. Exciting!

A little thanks

I was trying to think of a little something to give to people who help make Maddox's wish extra special. I have heard that the Wish Granters, Volunteers, and the Cast Members really make the trip and I want them to know that we appreciate their kindness. So I came up with these business card thank-yous:

Free Business Cards by Vistaprint

The back is blank, so I thought we could add little messages to the back for extra special efforts or surprises, and if we're waiting anywhere the kids could draw a picture on the back.

Next step

Maddox's wish granters will be coming on Wednesday evening. We are not going to tell the kids, we'll let it be a surprise! So it's exciting!

Maddox got Mail

Maddox got a special package in the mail today. I saw the label, so we gathered everyone together to open it!

The first thing Maddox said was "A party hat!"

He pulled the 'hat' out, which really was the top of a castle, and found a key!

Mommy read the invitation while Maddox and Bailee ooohed and awwed over the key and castle.

The Pre-Wish plans

In February we, with his doctors, decided that this summer is the time for his next surgery. Even though we knew it was coming, it has been a major reality check for us. We had discussed whether or not to approach Make-a-Wish at this time, but after talking with Maddox's doctors, the social worker, some other Wish families and between ourselves, we felt that now is the time.

One of our concerns is how young he is. Will he remember this trip? Will he wish later in life that he could have a "do-over"? We don't know the answer to those questions, but we feel that it's important to have this time before his surgery. And one thing we do know, Maddox will love it right now.

Maddox LOVES all things Disney. He asks to watch Mickey first thing every morning and hates that I make him eat breakfast first. He calls himself Pluto Puppy, his sister Daisy, Dad Mickey and Mom Minnie. At some point in almost every day since Christmas he has asked me if he could "Eat noodles with Mickey". I have no idea where he came up with this idea, but hey it combines 2 of his most favorite things. Noodles and Mickey. We weren't sure if traveling to Florida would even be possible, so I told him he could ask his Dr. It was so cute. After we had talked everything over, I said "Maddox, wasn't there something you wanted to ask Dr.?" He got this big smile on his face and said "I eat noodles with Mickey?" She told him yes and I think he thought he was going right then. (Instead we had to take him to the lab for a blood draw )

Today I got our first call from the Make-A-Wish director. Wow. Even though I *knew* it was coming eventually, it was amazing to get the call and feel like this is really going to happen. Until now I'd only talked with our Social Worker and Dr., so this just felt official.

Then, because we need to make this happen very quickly, I got a call from the Travel Wish coordinator. She wanted to know if we had any dates in mind so she can get working on things and said we should get a call to meet with Maddox's Wish Granters early next week. Truly incredible.

So at this point we are waiting to hear from his Wish Granters get the ball rolling. Because his surgery is coming up in early June we are kind of rushing the process. I am grateful they are willing to do so. Our first choice of dates is within the first 2 weeks of May. If those don't work, our back up plan is the 3rd week of April. It's coming up fast! So even though it's not "officially official", we are planning as much as we can right now.