We're going to Disney!!!

Now that I got that out of my system, I will give you all a little background information just in case you don't know about this special trip. Six months or so ago, two of Keyan's doctors asked me if we had considered submitting Keyan for a wish through the Make-a-Wish foundation. Both times, I politely smiled, nodded, and than explained that I did not think Keyan would qualify and did not want to take up their valuable time. Both doctors listened, and than very nicely stated that in fact they believed that Keyan would absolutely qualify. After discussing it with Paul, I decided that it would not hurt for me to call Make-a-Wish and ask some questions.
When I called, the woman told me that to qualify, Keyan had to have a life threatening illness, and that would be determined by a group of doctors that volunteer for the organization. She than asked if Keyan saw any specialist, I couldn't help but laugh since Keyan's list of specialist is about 25 doctors long! Anyhow, she took the name of some of them and said she would send them the paperwork, they would send it to the team of doctors, and we would either get a letter stating that she did not qualify, or receive a small package with information about granting her one true wish.
Fast forward six weeks....it is a Saturday, and one of our friends has so kindly offered to take the girls to her house to play so that we can just have a little break. Keyan of course can not go due to her special needs, so she stays home with Mommy and Daddy. We did our best that day to do some special things with her but she kept asking where her sisters went, and it was very obvious to both of us that she was sad and felt left out. Late that afternoon, I held her while she watched a movie and couldn't help but cry because I knew she was hurting...I realized that day that she was starting to realize that she was different. It was a really hard day on us all. While she was finishing the movie, I went out to get the mail. As I flipped thru all the junk mail, I came upon an envelope from Make-a-Wish. It was bigger than a standard envelope, but I figured they were letting us know that she did not qualify,and maybe sending us a survey or something. With trembling hands, I opened the envelope, and read the first line. "The Make-a-Wish Foundation of Michigan is pleased to inform you that Keyan has been medically approved for a wish!" I immediately started screaming for Paul and crying at the same time. I had mixed feelings...I was thrilled for her to be granted a wish, but I knew that meant that a team of doctors had reviewed Keyans medical history and determined she indeed had a life threatening illness. This is not what a Mom who is living in denial want to hear!
After composing myself, I read the information and learned that once granted a wish, the child could wait as long as they wanted to make her wish. We talked to Keyan quite a bit and decided that she would wish for a Disney trip but that we were going to wait a year or two before putting in the paperwork for her wish. That was a nice thought but it only lasted about another month.
In June Keyan became very sick with three different types of strange bacteria. I won't go into the gory details, but it was not pretty. Once again, I sat at her bedside not knowing how much longer we would have her with us. Her lung doctor came in at one point and with tears running down his face, said,"this is not where we thought that she would be at the age of three, it is not good, and we need to figure out a new plan. At this point, we can determine that the damage from mechanical ventilation is irreparable, and she will not grow out of it. This changes our course of action!" Wow, when the doctor cries, it is a very scary moment. We have put her on a drug regime that we were hoping to never use, but we sure are thankful it exists. Our goal is to keep her healthy instead of fight the illnesses after they are have taken hold. It was at that time that the doctors advised us to put in for her wish and let God be in control of the timing. They felt that a year from now, she may not have the same endurance level, and at least right now, we know what we are dealing with. We headed their advice and sent the paper work in.
Keyan's official wish is to go to Disney and sing with Ariel. We received a call last week letting us know that we were confirmed to go to Disney October 15th thru the 20th! I never thought that it would happen this soon, but we are all thrilled to say the least. So...in 23 days (but who's counting!), the seven of us and Grammie will be flying to Florida. I can't believe how much stuff there is to do but Make-a-Wish handles a lot of it so we are just enjoying the excitement!
So, for those of you who heard that Keyan was granted a wish and got quite scared, I am sorry to frighten you. She is not terminal, but does have several life threatening illnesses. It is obviously a mixed blessing....we are thrilled for her to have this wish granted, but would give anything to have her not qualify. So, continue to pray for good health and check back often to keep track of our pre-trip planning!