I applied to several foundations trying to get a "last wish" granted. I wanted to have the chance to take Kenzie to Disney World. She has always loved Mickey Mouse, and I knew we would all enjoy seeing Disney World as a family.
Two foundations worked together to provide a 5 day vacation for us. One provided airline tickets and 1 day passes to Disney World. The other provided 2 days at Universal Studios and 1 day at Sea World and our hotel stay. Plus, a friend I haven't seen since a young girl, contacted a company she had worked for who provided the base charge for our rental car. On top of all that the 2 foundations gave us spending money for incidentals and the gentleman who brought the package to us donated $200 Disney credit cards so we could go to Disney another day, but a friend of a friend of a friend (LOL) worked at Disney and got us in another day. So, we were able to use the credit cards on toys and memory items for Mackenzie. We also had a friend and my mother-in-law give us some spending money as well. It was such a huge blessing for God to provide in such wonderful ways.
We flew out on Sunday afternoon. The flights went well, and Mackenzie enjoyed the ride. Unfortunately, she had an upset stomach shortly after we landed and ended up throwing up as we were picking up supplies after getting our rental car, but we picked up some water and snacks at Walmart, picked up some supper, and settled into the hotel before falling into bed excited for our next day when we would be heading to Disney World. Dean woke us up at 7am (which is 6am in our time zone). We got ready quickly, ate breakfast, and excitedly made our way to Disney. Since our first day the tickets were just to one park we chose Magic Kingdom. We took the ferry over and were able to enjoy seeing the castle from afar!
Once we landed and went through security, we walked right into a Mickey Parade. Mackenzie was so excited and wiggled out of Dean's arms so she could run up to Mickey's float. She was so upset that she couldn't "hug and kiss him", but no one was allowed close to the floats. We got up there in time for Mickey's float to stop. They were performing to a song and dancing. She refused to dance. Instead she waved and waved and continued to wave at Mickey until he finally waved back! It was so adorable.
After the parade went by we went on the carousel... which is always her favorite ride anywhere we go. Then we continued on to the teacups... which she had been talking about for months. She wanted to ride on the pink teacup, and we were actually able to get the pink cup! I have pictures of her adorable face smiling as big as can be as Dean spun us around really fast. She thought it was just great.
We were able to see a show in front of the castle with Mickey, Minnie, and the princess' and princes. It was so magical and had Kenzie totally enchanted. It was so beautiful and enjoyable. On our way out we walked right into another parade. This one was the princess' and princes. Each float was made as part of their story. It was so amazing to see it come to life before our eyes.
With the money donated we were able to let Mackenzie pick out toys, a princess hat, and a dress. She had a blast and was so happy to be picking things out! We left Disney World tired but happy. I was pretty beat, but was amazed a the strength God gave me to walk the entire day and enjoy all the rides with Mackenzie. Plus it was a beautiful day. It was only a high of 69 that day so we weren't submerged into scorching heat our first day. We found a good place to eat then again fell into bed that night.
We again woke up early the next day and made our way to Sea World. We got there in time to make our way right to the Shamu Show. Since I am technically disabled we were able to sit in the disabled seating area and have a good view of the show without getting drenched. I was so thankful to have a slower day as i was pretty sore and achy from the nonstop walking and standing at Disney.
The Shamu Show was absolutely awe inspiring! It was so amazing to see God's creatures perform. Their ability was magnificent! Between Dean and I we got some really good pictures of them jumping and some awesome video of their performance. Sea World did a fabulous job with the entire production between the whales, the music, and the background video it was enough to bring tears to my eyes and so much thankfulness in my heart for this amazing opportunity! Kenzie was just enthralled. She stared and smiled and cheered and never took her eyes off the whales!
After the show we practically ran to the other side of the park to go to the dolphin show... unfortunately by time we got there it was full. So we quickly made our way back to the other side where the Sea Lion show would be starting shortly. We were able to get good seats here as well, and enjoyed watching the Mime entertain before the show began. He was so funny and even Kenzie got a kick out of him. The sea lions were also very funny. The entire show was entertaining and hilarious.
We were able to enjoy some dolphin antics and touch the sting rays. Plus we got to see a ton of cool sea animals and fish in their exhibits. We were so excited about catching all this that we didn't even realize we missed the penguin exhibit and the polar bears! We were already gone before we realized we forgot to find those. We did make a trip to the beach this night but by time we got there it was already dark. Since we were already there though we did walk a few minutes in the dark... by flashlight of course!
We again dropped into bed this night and got up early again the next day. By this time I was getting pretty wore down and knew I wouldn't make it through too much more before falling apart.. or at least I felt like I was going to fall to pieces. This was Universal Studios day. When we picked up our tickets this day we were given a medical assistance pass... I didn't know we would be receiving this and it was such a blessing! This meant we didn't have to stand in line. We were able to get to the front of the line on all rides!
First up, Shrek 4D! None of us had ever been to a 3D or 4D movie and we were excited to see it. We were ushered to a back room to sit until it was time to enter the theater... I was so thankful for this as my feet felt like they were going to break into tiny pieces and my back was so sore! As we entered they gave us our glasses and ushered us to the front row! We had amazing seats. Kenzie loved it and didn't even act upset as she was sprayed with "snot" from Donkey's sneeze and splattered with "acid" as the dragon roared! She thought it was awesome! She laughed and screamed and kept those glasses on the whole time!
We walked around for a while after this enjoying the "city" they built then went to the attached park to see Dr. Seuss' land. That was super cool! We rode on another carousel and on a water ride called "One fish two fish red fish blue fish". Kenzie wanted to get wet so I kept steering into the water sprays. We went on a train ride through Dr. Seuss' park which was really neat. It let us see what was all in the park from above. There were a couple other parks that had play areas that Kenzie really enjoyed!
We were actually done at an early enough time this day to make it to a beach before sunset! We drove to Daytona Beach and had an hour to walk the shore line and play in the waves! We really enjoyed this relaxing time and Kenzie loved the waves and chasing the birds.
The next and final day was Disney again. By this point I could hardly walk so I had to break down and rent a wheel chair. I was happy that I made it this far without one though! And I was able to do much more with the help of a wheel chair so it was well worth it. We started at Epcot. The sweet lady who got us in took us to the meet and greet area so we could take pictures with Disney and friends. We stood in line for 40 minutes, but it was soooo worth it. Kenzie was so happy to see them and hugged and kissed each one! She was so adorable, and it made her trip as this was what she said she wanted to do since she found out we were going. We got some good pictures and I can't wait to scrapbook them! After Epcot we went to Animal Kingdom where we immediately got fast pass tickets to get on the safari. This was a cool experience to see the animals walking around while we drove by. We also went to the 3D movie "It's hard to be a bug" which was inside the "tree of life". If you haven't been to Disney this tree is so cool. It isn't real but looks real and is absolutely huge. You can see this tree as soon as you walk in the park and it is in the center of the park. They made such intricate designs on the trunk it was so gorgeous. We loved this movie too as we smelled the stink from a stink bug and was sprayed again and stung in the back by hornets! So fun and entertaining!
So if it wasn't clear at all... we loved this trip! We were exhausted but so happy! We came home with wonderful memories and hundreds of pictures taken! I can't wait to develop those pictures and make Kenzie a scrapbook of our trip. We are grateful to all those who helped make this trip possible, and so thankful for the time and ability to make this trip!
I am positive God was with me on this trip. I know many prayed and I could feel those prayers. Typically I am exhausted and can't do a whole lot during a day. I may be able to walk for an hour or so but then need to rest. On this trip I was able to walk and stay on my feet for the whole day for 4 days... although the last day I did need a wheel chair I still could tell that God was giving me the strength to not only make it through the days but enjoy every last bit of it. I did still have pain, but it was bearable. I find this to be a small miracle in and of itself!
Now the Dream is over and we are home and continuing with life as it was before, but with some wonderful new memories and a brief break from our new normal. I continued chemo the week after I got back and felt like I was going back to a job that I absolutely hate and dread, but it is what I have to do to fight this thing.
Thank you all who helped and who prayed! Thank you for being a part of our dream!
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