Dear Heidi,
We wanted to send you and the sponsors of the Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation a huge thank you for our WOW trip to Disney. Our lives have changed dramatically over the past year with Margie’s cancer diagnosis and the heavy demands of treatment and recuperation. Our children are very brave but this is the hardest time of their short lives. The trip to Disney was a break from all of the stress that cancer causes.
You were so helpful with choosing a trip and making arrangements to meet all of our family’s needs. Disney was the perfect choice for us; something we planned to do but had to delay due to cancer. The trip went smoothly from beginning to end. The people at Park and Fly were very helpful with our bags and parking the car. We checked in to the flight at their facility and were able to breeze through the airport. At the airport our 7 year-old daughter, Claire, met a Canadian girl that she has kept in touch with since returning to Atlanta. The Airtran flight was quick and easy and we were met at baggage claim by the limo service. The children were so excited to ride in the limo and drink a bottle of water on the way to the hotel.
They felt very important. When we arrived at Disney’s Swan Resort they checked us in and explained the accommodations. They then escorted us to a huge suite that was filled with goodies and souvenirs for the children. We felt like royalty. When we picked up our Disney passes they saw that Margie needed a wheelchair and gave us “front of the line” passes that allowed us to move quickly through all of the rides and attractions. We spent two days in the Magic Kingdom and one in Animal Kingdom. There were so many exciting things to do and we went all day long.
This trip was so important to our family’s psyche. We were able to enjoy four days of uninterrupted togetherness and fun that we will always remember. We have talked about it often since coming home and Claire suggested that we go back every three years. We hope to be healthy enough to be able to return again as a family someday. We have received much love and support from friends, family and the community during this difficult time in our lives. Even with the improvements of modern medicine cancer does very sad things to families. Thank you for focusing on helping families enjoy the time they have together.
We are sending copies of Always and Everywhere, a children’s book Laura Bowman, a dear friend of ours, wrote and illustrated for our family. It is a loving story about how the love and lessons of a parent live within us even when we can’t see them. We hope that you will distribute copies to families that might benefit. Thank you again for the mission of the Jack and Jill Foundation and all of your hard work.
Sincerely,
Chris and Margie LaSalle