long shot....if you have a vacation property in driving distance of central florida..

[ktgrok]

A friend and former coworker has a preschool daughter that has a degenerative brain disease. She does not have a favorable prognosis. They are handling it as well as can be expected, but want to give her as many happy experiences as possible while they can. After medical bills, therapy, testing, etc, there isn't much left for fun and vacation. They normally would NEVER accept a hand out, but in this situation are hoping to find some free or inexpensive places to take the family for a long weekend, just to have fun and forget about all the medical stuff. If anyone here has something that fits that bill , let me know. Thanks!

[MariannNOVA]

praying and bumping

[Jaz]

I wish I did. :grouphug:

[Guest sahwifeandmom]

Please check out Give Kids the World. My church as well as my brother's church have volunteered there more then once. It is a vacation resort that is for children like your friend's. I don't know much about how you go about getting to stay there, but everyone that has been there that I know to volunteer wants to go back to serve these families. Hope that is helpful. I am looking forward to my children being old enough so that our family can go volunteer.

[Guest sahwifeandmom]

Forgot to say it is in the Orlando area, and is made for children and their families with terminal illnesses.:grouphug:

[LucyStoner]

What about Make-A-Wish Foundation? That might be worth investigating under the circumstances.

[Guest sahwifeandmom]

From the Give kids the World website: The Give Kids the World Village is a 70-acre, non-profit "storybook" resort, located near central Florida's most beloved attractions, where children with life-threatening illnesses and their families are treated to weeklong, cost-free, fantasy vacations.

 

I hope you are able to look at the site and see if it will help your friend.

[katilac]

They need to get in touch with the Make a Wish Foundation. When Make a Wish sends kids to Disney World, etc, Give Kids the World is where they stay. There are other organizations similar to Make a Wish; they can ask at the hospital or clinic where they get treatment.

 

My cousin is going next month with her family - their 4-yr-old has leukemia. Make a Wish pretty much arranges EVERYTHING: plane tickets, a rental car, room at GKTW, tickets to Disney, Universal, Sea World, and so on, even spending money. Even if she does not want to do the theme parks, GKTW has tons of fun stuff right on the grounds - rides like trains and carousels, swimming pools and a water park, ice cream shop, etc.

 

Make a Wish does grant other wishes, but GKTW sounds ideal in location.

[Caroline]

I think they live in Orlando, so Disney might not be that much of a pull.

[katilac]

I think they live in Orlando, so Disney might not be that much of a pull.

 

They don't HAVE to go to Disney to stay at Give Kids the World. There are tons of things to do in and near Orlando; I don't think a preschooler could have exhausted them all. And, they might like just staying at the resort! There are tons of volunteers on hand to help, and absolutely everything is free.

 

Either way, they have to go through Make a Wish, and the wish people will discuss all of the possibilities with them. Wish kids pick all kinds of things: a playhouse for their backyard, swimming with the dolphins, meeting a celebrity, going on a shopping spree, and so on. Kids can choose all kinds of travel experiences, Disney is just the best known.