Emily’s lifelong battle with a serious genetic tissue disorder has resulted in extremely fragile arteries, muscles, and organs, as well as other complications. Despite her life-threatening condition, she is living large with great passion and delighting those who know and love her. She absolutely loves animals, being outside/swimming, and truly enjoys traveling. Her desire to go somewhere warm led her to decide on wishing for a trip to Disney World. Wishes & More was happy to send Emily and her family to Florida in November where she experienced seven days of outdoor fun at the parks and Give Kids The World. Her favorite day was at Sea World, where she met a dolphin face-to-face and fed some of the other animals! She also enjoyed a relaxing interlude from the bustle of Sea World by having lunch with the orcas. Their day at Animal Kingdom was super special as well. What started as a self-guided tour of the trails, turned into a private tour from one of the Animal Kingdom cast members! The whole trip was a wonderful break from her daily grind, and they had a blast with every new daily adventure they took part in.
In addition to her wish, we were also happy to provide a unique “wish enhancement” in October as she waited for her wish travel date to come. During her wish interview, Emily shared with our volunteer wish grantors that she was a super fan of the Mavericks (the Minnesota State University, Mankato hockey team) and that she attended their games whenever possible and knew every player by name. We reached out to a connection in Mankato which set the ball rolling to have a game-night experience just for her. Thanks to wish contributors Michelle Schoof, along with Greg Weis and Scott Nelson from the MN Mavericks, she not only had on-the-glass seats, she also was invited into the pre-game locker room to read the starting lineup to the team and the players all gave her fist bumps as they entered the ice. The video board posted a special welcome to her and she engaged in other fun activities throughout the game and made the entire evening special beyond words. From Florida to Mankato, we were happy to fulfill a complete wish experience for Emily and bring her joy!
