CHILDREN’S WISH FOUNDATION OF CANADA
The Children’s wish Foundation of Canada never ceases to warm our hearts… And as you know, Around the Crib proudly supports their cause. This time, the Foundation comes with another beautiful story. It features Blake, who is 10 years old from BC and recently returned from his wish trip to Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii with his mom, dad, brother and sister.
HIS SMILE LIGHTS UP YOUR LIFE
Blake has a smile that will light up your life. This fun and happy boy has been on a long journey, but by his charming energy, you would never know. Born with Down syndrome and pulmonary hypertension (PH), Blake had his first heart surgery at only five months old. Doctors hoped the surgery would clear the PH, but instead they determined Blake’s type of PH has no cure, meaning he and his family had an uncertain future lying ahead.
Thankfully the hospital, friends, and family helped them navigate this rare disease and what it meant for Blake. As he gets older, they are beginning to see more symptoms appear with the increased pressure in his pulmonary arteries that damages his lungs. While the disease progresses, doctors are testing various medications to see which can keep Blake off supplementary oxygen and lower the pressure. While his medical team is surprised by his resilience and overall health, they know it can turn at any time.
BLAKE’S WISH TO PLAY AT THE BEACH
Blake’s identity isn’t all about his illness – he is a huge lover of water (ocean, lake, river, bath, you name it) and will spend the whole day playing in it. While his Down syndrome limits how much he can understand about a wish, when he saw the pictures of the ocean in Hawaii, he was hooked. He couldn’t stop talking about going to Hawaii in an airplane where he could play at the beach and in the pools from sunrise to sunset. This would be a memory-making trip for the whole family, and one that they couldn’t wait to share together.
…and his wish CAME TRUE!
Following their return from this magical trip, Blake’s mum, Jete, wrote the most moving letter expressing the family’s gratitude towards the Foundation and all its supporters:
“WE HAD SUCH AN AMAZING TIME!!! I’m literally out of adjectives. The trip blew our minds. And I can’t believe how good the kids were! They were busy all day long and then were in bed by 8 and crashed HARD haha! They loved that we bought the re-usable mugs, and we gave them permission to drink Coke all day long!!
The staff at Aulani were incredible too. So friendly and accommodating. The kids loved Auntie’s Beach House too, but we didn’t even end up sending them there a ton because they were so thrilled to be swimming all day. We got to go to Sea Life Adventure Park one day and that was super fun for the kids. They have a sea lion and a dolphin show, and this huge aviary with tons of birds that you can feed – you probably saw photos of all of that!
And we drove to another beach one day too, to check out the big waves and do some exploring. Parker took some convincing to try snorkelling at the Aulani reef, but we finally got him to do it, and he loved it. We didn’t think Blake would be able to figure out the snorkel, so he didn’t try it lol!
We can’t thank you enough for providing this kind of experience for us and so many other families. We’re so beyond grateful.
Thank you, thank you, thank you”
Please visit http://www.childrens-foundation.org/ and donate!