According to The Blaze McKenna May a four-year-old cancer survivor’s Make-A-Wish Dream was to take a trip to Disney World. Those dreams have now been cancelled by her own father because he thinks only dying children deserve the charity’s money.
The family lives in Haskins, Ohio and was granted $3,500 to pay for the once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Florida theme park. McKenna spent half of her short life undergoing treatment for leukemia. But the brave little girl has been left devastated after her father William May as he refused to sign a consent form allowing her to go.
The father states the gift was an improper use of donations, and that the trip should be reserved for ‘kids who only have six months to live’.
While I can understand where the Father is coming from I believe his pride is stopping him from allowing Make a Wish to grant her a dream of a lifetime. She has been struggling for most of her life and I think she deserves to see Mickey and Friends in the most magical place on earth!
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What do you think? Should they take the trip or no? Let us know in the comment box below.
Photo credit Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune
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My good friend’s grandaughter had leukemia her whole short 6 years of life. She was in and out of hospitals the whole time. This past Thanksgiving they gave her the OK to go home and everything was fine and she was in remission. Just two weeks later she took a turn for the worse. She died 4 weeks later. Please do not count on your child staying well if she has been sick for so long. You cannot count on that staying the case and can only hope and pray that it does. This child deserves to go no matter what one of her parents may think.
My daughter was granted a wish from Make a Wish. She was born at only 25 weeks and fought for her life the entire first year of her life. She didn’t leave the hospital until she was a year old then she had a trach, gtube, etc and we still had all kinds of medical things to deal with for years. However, she slowly got better and thank God she is doing great today! At four years old a doctor nominated us for a wish and I thought, no, my daughter isn’t in the life threatening category any more (yay!) but the Make a Wish people told us that the child only had to have experienced something life threatening at some point and to me, more importantly – a child is never turned down for a wish because another child is approved. In other words, if a child is dying of cancer and needs to go asap they would never be turned down because I (or anyone else) said yes. That was really important to me. And they also convinced me, while it is for the child in a lot of cases it’s for the family too. That is why they like to see the Disney trips happen, they whole family gets spoiled. My daughter’s wish was to dance with the Princesses and it was one of the most magical moments of my life – especially because there was a long time I never knew if she would live for me to share one of my great loves with her. That Dad is just being nothing but selfish. I imagine it has everything to do with the fact that the parents are divorced and he probably isn’t invited. What a horrible, horrible thing to do to your child. It makes me very sad. After all she has been through, she deserves this trip for being the courageous survivor that she is.
Reading some of the issues within the “family” dynamic and the marriage/parenting issues etc. I think that MAW should just allow those that want to go (girl and her mom and whoever) to go.
However, without looking at those external issues, the mom could also spin this to a lesson for her daughter – think of others before yourself. If MAW allows this girl (and her family) to follow where the funds are redirected to, a child that is more terminally ill that herself, this may serve to be a very valuable lesson to her, and resolve to make her a much better person than her father is.
An article that I read earlier states that the dad is remarried, wasn’t there for most of the little girls treatments and feels the girls mom wants to use the trip to look for houses down there and take her further away from him. This seems to be a selfish act on the father’s part and he is trying to make it out to be a “selfless” act. What a shame for this little girl who’s suffered most of her life.
She and her family have spent two horrendous years battling this ugly disease and certainly they need a vacation and some happiness in her little life. She has spent half of it already in hospitals and in treatment so why doesn’t she deserve this trip? She has wishes and dreams too, and she deserves to be a Disney Princess too. WDW is a magical place where dreams come true. Let’s see McKenna get her wish! There is an account for McKenna’s Disney fund for those wishing to donate so she have her dream.
Fifth Third Bank
275 S Main St
Bowling Green, OH 43402
“McKenna May”
Usually when Make a Wish grants these wishes, the family is allowed to go. The number of family members varies, but usually a minimum of 4 as far as I have seen. I am sure the father was invited, I have never seen an instance where both parents were not part of it. I think the father does feel guilty because his daughter feels better now. I have a child who nearly died, and spent nearly 2 years living children’s hospital to children’s hospital. It is a nightmare that can’t be described. I am sure, after seeing other kids suffering he feels guilty, thinking there are kids worse off than his daughter. But this is a special gift granted to a family who has suffered and fought together to beat this horrible disease. I say they deserve it, and should enjoy every minute. When they get home, remember to donate to Make A wish when they can, because every child and family who fights and lives in a hospital long term deserves something special!! We went this year ourselves, to celebrate 1 whole year without a surgery or overnight hospital stay, and my son’s 5th birthday. We were blessed with being able to pay for it ourselves. It was magical and amazing. Please donate to Make A Wish there are many children in need of some magic, and not just a vacation. Some use the money for changes at home to make their home accessible, or safe. To provide a fun space to play, when going out in public isn’t safe with so many germs, etc.
I could go either way on this. It’s commendable that he believes the money should be used for someone worse off, but how could you do this to your own 4 year old child?
That is not the only purpose of Make a Wish. They are there for children with life threatening illnesses, not always terminal. I think this father is so relieved that his child does not fall into the latter category now that he is unwilling to accept how close it was. And remission could end at any time. He should graciously accept, send his little girl on her trip, and try to make small donations to the organization if that would make him feel better.
Surely someone from MAW will tell this father that they also grant wishes to non terminally ill children. What a shame to put this little girl through all this.
I can see both sides to this honestly!! I would like to think the father believes there are other children out there who could benefit from this, and that since his little girl has more life to live there will be a chance in the future for her to go. I think it is an honorable thing, in this greedy world!! Most people would sign the papers to get anything for free!! Would he be going with her? Maybe thats the issue? If he was do you think he would sign the paper?
He should let her go. Make a Wish is not all about dying. It’s about living. That little girl has endured so much she needs a little bit of sun in her life. I also hate to point out, that while she is well and doing great now, no one knows what live may bring. Let her go now, incase the unthinkable happens and she can’t enjoy it later.