“I cannot begin to thank you for all that you have done for our daughter, Taylor, and our family. Taylor was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor and had emergency surgery. We were very lucky they were able to remove the entire tumor. However, Taylor still had a long road ahead of her. It was during the 8-six week rounds of chemo that one of Taylor’s friend and her friend’s mom approached me and said they would like to refer Taylor to Make-A-Wish. Soon after, Taylor was sent a letter and we were told to have her think of something she would like to have or do … something she has always wanted. Taylor picked to go to Maui, Hawaii and swim with the dolphins.

Taylor’s wish was granted and she was told she could go to the Hyatt Regency and they would set up a trip for her to swim with the dolphins. Because Taylor had decided to take her wish when her chemo was over and feeling better, it was about a year a way. However, it was the best thing ever. It was like the prize at the end of the tunnel for Taylor, and she was working extremely hard to get there. We used the dolphin swim to help her with her IV’s by using imagery, and she would imagine the dolphins being a different color each time and imagine we were swimming with them. This was the biggest help ever. It became easier for her to get her IV’s because she would be thinking about the trip and the dolphins, and it just helped her focus on getting better so she could get to Hawaii.

The day that the volunteers came to the house to deliver the tickets and information for the trip was when it became so real. Taylor and her sister were so excited, as well as her father and me.
It was the beginning of the excitement. When the limo pulled up in front of our house to take us to the airport and to the beginning of the most amazing trip of our lives!

The first full day we were there we went to Sea Life Park to swim with the dolphins, and it was amazing. We watched the dolphin show first and then we got ready for our swim with them. For my husband and I, this made the trip. To see the smiles on Taylor face when she swam with the dolphin, and when it was all over, to see their excitement about it was so priceless. We could have ended the trip there and been completely satisfied. Of course we are glad it didn’t because we did so many other 2 wonderful things while we were there.

On our trip we visited Pearl Harbor, went sight seeing, went to the Aquarium, relaxed at the spa, enjoyed a wildlife tour where Taylor go to pet the penguins, watched the sunrise from the top of a volcano and so much more! We enjoyed the pool and amazing hotel. Taylor was especially infatuated with the hotel we stayed at in Maui because it had penguins and birds in the lobby, and swans and flamingos. It also has no roof covering the lobby, so when it rains, it rains inside the lobby! It has a beautiful pool with waterfalls and a waterslide that she loved to go in. We also went to a luau at the hotel! Taylor and her sister had so much fun seeing the different dances and hearing the stories about the islands. Taylor even went on stage to learn how to do the hula! We were all too embarrassed to go up and Taylor said, ‘I don’t care what you guys do. I’m going up and learning the hula.’ And she did. We were so proud of her. She didn’t let anything stop her from enjoying every minute of the trip.

On our last day in Hawaii, Taylor said she didn’t want to leave! I said to her, ‘Wasn’t it amazing? Was it everything you hoped for?’ She looked at me with tears in her eyes, but with the biggest smile on her face, and said that ‘it was everything I hoped for and more, it was the best time of my life!’ How can you top that? I know we will never be able to repay Make-A-Wish for all they did, not only for Taylor but, for our whole family. Some people don’t realize how hard it is on the siblings of the sick children and how hard a family has to work to try and keep everyone in some type of normalcy while your world is slowly falling apart. Make-A-Wish gave us the opportunity to focus on the positive and help Taylor strive to get better. It gave not only Taylor hope, but our family hope… hope to see Hawaii together, to enjoy being a normal family on vacation and not worry about the hospital and the doctors who, thanks to their expertise got Taylor well enough to enjoy that vacation. It gave us time as a family to heal, which we desperately needed. We cannot express our gratitude enough for the incredible time we had as a family. There were so many priceless moments on our trip. We will be forever grateful. You gave our family exactly what it needed: hope, peace and laughter. I hope that you are able to continue spreading the incredible joy you gave to Taylor and our family to many, many others for years to come. We definitely felt it made a big difference in our lives and hope that one day we can pay it back to someone else. We hope to somehow help give back because of the wonderful ways Make-A-Wish helps sick children reach for the stars and wish for their ultimate dream. It is life changing, and it is so wonderful. We thank you truly from the bottoms of our hearts for the incredible trip that you granted for Taylor.”