CHD and Make-a-Wish

No parent wants to think their child with CHD qualifies for a Make-A-Wish trip. The very idea is terrifying. Trust me, I get it.

When I saw a fellow heart mom post pictures of her child on his Make-A-Wish trip I stopped in my tracks and thought to myself: “her son has almost the same heart defect as mine, this can’t be right.” It was right. The criteria for children to receive a wish are as follows:

  • Between the ages of 2.5-18 years old
  • Child has a life threatening medical condition verified by their physician

Not as scary as I thought.

My sweet heart warrior was deserving of a trip for all he’d been through, and his siblings…I could go on and on about how much his brother and sisters deserved just by being the sibling of a child with such special needs.

Starting the process

After speaking to the Mom of the other heart warrior, I googled to find out the application process was relatively simple. I filled out the forms in about ten minutes and the next step was a call from Make-A-Wish of Middle Tennessee, our local chapter. Our wish coordinator walked us through the rest of the process. We met with the wish coordinator in person and Trace told her his wish was to go to Disney. After a few signed pages of paperwork the wish coordinators took over and every step was planned out for us with nothing to worry about ourselves.

The trip of a lifetime

We spent a week in the Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee, Florida. It’s a private Villa for you and your family inside a community full of other Wish families. In the Village we found a swimming pool with free snacks, drinks, and Icee’s all day. Free ice cream at the Ice Cream Palace. Character visits with professional photographers to capture the memories. A theater full of free snacks and drinks every night. Horseback riding a few times a week. Fair-like rides all day, everyday. And finally, dining room in Towne Square serving three delicious, free meals a day with no limits on the food or the love. Nothing could ever compare to the magic of Give Kids the World to our family.

Trace has CHD and Make-a-Wish made his dream of visiting Disney come true.
Trace enjoying some ice cream on his Make-a-Wish trip.

CHD and Make-a-Wish

No one wants their child with CHD to qualify for Make-a-Wish because no one wants to think of their child as critically ill. The reality is that critical doesn’t mean the same thing as terminal. If your child meets the criteria they deserve the trip or experience of a lifetime and there are people who want to make that happen for them. Let them make it happen!

To find out if your child is eligible or start the referral process visit Make-a-Wish America’s website for more information.

Also read: Taking Your Child with CHD to Disney World