If you could have one thing in this entire world, what would
it be? If you could have one moment in
time free of worry and stress and grief from all of your day’s turmoil, what
would you wish for? When you find
yourself enduring the very toughest times and each day you search for the
slightest glimmer of hope, where do you escape to in your mind? What would you trade for one week away from
whatever it is that ails you? I am sure
that each and everyone one of you reading this has had moments in your lives
when you simply wanted to run away, when the stresses seemed to be overflowing,
and all of the negativity in life seemed to be winning. Yet, few of us have ever had to go through
the struggles that Carter has had to face in his short life.
As you may know, Carter was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart
Syndrome; a condition that would have proven fatal in the very early days of
his life if not for a lifesaving open heart surgery within just a few weeks of
being born. He then had to undergo a
second open heart surgery at approximately 6 months of age, the second in a
three step process as a solution to the Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Carter was slated for his third procedure
around the time that he would have turned 2.
However, it was determined that his condition was such that the third
procedure was not an option, and instead he was put on the heart donation
list. On February 7th 2012,
he received the gift of a new heart. Just
2 days later, he turned 2. Since that
time Carter has been in recovery and is doing quite well. The first six months post-transplant are the
most dangerous because of a weakened immune system. Carter made it out of that danger zone and
continues to live each and every day as a blessing. And he is a true blessing to everyone that
has the privilege of meeting him. This two
year old boy can melt any heart with a smile, and his eyelashes steal all the
ladies’ hearts.
Not long ago, Carter’s family was contacted by the
Make-A-Wish foundation of Washington, www.makeawishwa.org. Once Carter was stable enough, they wanted to
grant him and his family a wish. When
they asked Carter what his wish was, that thing that could make it all better
if only for a short time, his answer was that he wanted to meet SpongeBob! Poof!
Wish granted.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation made it all happen. They flew Carter, his mom, dad, sister
Madison, and brother Clinton to Orlando Florida from Seattle Washington to meet
SpongeBob. But they didn’t stop
there. It started with a kickoff
celebration in Seattle where the whole family was invited to participate and
Madison and Clinton as well as Carter were treated like superstars. It was at that point when the family realized
the extent of the wish that was being granted.
They would spend a week in Orlando with passes to Sea World, Universal
Studios, and Walt Disneyworld Resorts.
In addition to all of this they put the family up in a villa at Give the
Kids the World, www.gktw.org, where they
could be around other families in similar situations and celebrate in the
simple joys of seeing their children enjoy life and dance without having to
worry about lab results and the next doctor’s appointment. Every detail was taken into account, from
transportation to and from the airport, escorts through the security at the
airport, as well as the Seattle Firemen and Policemen coming out to wish Carter
a good trip.
While in Orlando they all got to meet the Disney, Universal,
and Nickelodeon characters. Mickey,
Shrek, the princesses, and so many more!
Carter’s favorites were the princesses (remember what I said about his
lashes…lady killer!) Of course there was
SpongeBob! Carter will tell you that was
his favorite part, but his mom will tell you that he was frightened of all of
the characters and would only go near them if Mom or Dad was holding him. Everywhere they went that week they were
treated with amazing care and support.
They even got to be in one of the parades down Main Street at
Disneyworld! They got time alone with
all of the Disney princesses to play tag, and got brought up on stage to Dance
at Disney Studios.
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| Melting Hearts |
What amazes me about the entire story is not that everyone
treated Carter like a superstar, but the extent that they went through to make
sure that his parents had a stress free weekend, and that Madison and Clinton
were treated like superstars too! Carter’s
condition is one that the entire family is experiencing and this wish was
granted for each and everyone one of them.
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| Stars of the Parade with Donald |
Carter’s mom said that the
greatest blessing that Make-A-Wish provided was the gift of a stress free,
worry free week where they could enjoy a vacation with the entire family and
feel for just a short time like there was no looming stress or fear of
transplant rejection, or lab results waiting for them when they returned, or
the possibility of Carter coming down with the flu and ending up in the
hospital for weeks at a time. For a
while, just a short while those fears were gone. And they got to see their children’s faces
light up when they met their heroes, SpongeBob, Stitch, Cinderella, and so many
more.
I am so amazingly moved and thankful to the Make-A-Wish
foundation, Give the Kids the World, Universal Studios, Nickelodeon, Disney
World, and all of the volunteers and donors who make these kinds of miracles
happen. There are so few truly happy
stories in the world that I needed to share this one for Teresa, Erick,
Madison, Clinton and Carter. You are all
an inspiration to me and many more.
A dream
is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true
~Cinderella~
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Prince Charming
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| The Family with SpongeBob |
