I Wish to Go...Averie's Story
“I wish to go to the Walt Disney World® Resort”
Four-year-old Averie is an expert on Disney Princesses. Watching the Disney Channel and Disney movies always gave her a happy distraction from her medical treatments for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Averie wished to go to the Walt Disney World® Resort, and by the time her trip was done, she had done more than just meet her beloved princesses…she had become one. “I got to see Mickey and Minnie and Belle and Ariel and Goofy and Pluto,” Averie said excitedly, recalling her wish. “There was a big castle for the real Cinderella. I felt fine and happy.” Averie and her family had a long road to feeling “fine and happy.” She was diagnosed with leukemia at age 3. “It tore us apart,” Averie’s mom, Shelly, said. “We didn’t think anything like that could ever happen to us.” But Averie’s family and friends rallied around her and helped her make the best out of visiting the hospital twice a week. They pretended going to the hospital was like going on vacation. “We pretended we were going to Hawaii and packed our swimsuits and sunscreen,” Shelly said. “Averie never questioned, and always listened and trusted, even when she had to take so many medicines.” When the chance came for a wish - a real vacation - choosing the Walt Disney World Resort was easy. Waiting for the trip was hard. But the trip gave Averie something to look forward to during the tough times. “Any time she was sick, we talked about all the things we could do and see when we got to Disney World,” Shelly said. “[Having wishes] was something all the kids in Averie’s hospital wing got to dream about. All the parents would say, ‘You have to get better to go on your wish. You’ve got to take your medicine so you can have your wish!’” Averie’s motto for the trip became, “No pokies [needles] for a week!” When wish day finally arrived, a limo pulled up in front of Averie’s house to chauffer the princess-to-be to the airport. Averie’s uncle, a pilot for Northwest Airlines, and her aunt, a flight attendant, arranged to be on Averie’s flight. “I cried [tears of joy] just getting on the plane,” Shelly said. Averie’s transformation into a princess began at the Magic Kingdom’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, where she told beauticians she wanted to be Cinderella. As if by magic, Averie found herself upon a throne wearing a Cinderella ball gown, glass slippers, a crown, and glamorous makeup and nail polish. Her hair, which had just started to grow back after chemotherapy, was accented with a hairpiece of golden curls. Shelly said her favorite memory of the wish was “seeing Averie smile as she looked at herself in the dressing room mirror with long hair. After everything she’d been through, she just got to be a kid.” A royal photo shoot followed, as Princess Averie posed for photos in front of some of the famous Magic Kingdom landmarks. The Disney staff she encountered bowed before her, and even the Pirates of the Caribbean came out to greet her. And – perhaps the best part of all – she got to bypass every line in the park! Today, Averie’s leukemia is in remission, though she still continues treatments, which will last a total of 2 ½ years. Shelly says, thankfully, her little girl doesn’t remember many of her worst days being sick. But, she definitely still remembers her wish!”
Archived Wish Stories
  
I wish to go and I wish to go on a I wish to go to a
watch the Phoenix Disney Cruise. Gaming Camp.
Mars Lander.
| Archived "I Wish to Go" Stories
At the Magic Kingdom’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, beauticians transformed Averie into a real princess.
A royal photo shoot follwed, and Averie met her idol, Cinderella.
Besides meeting princesses like Belle, Averie got to bypass all the lines in the park! 
Meeting Alice made Averie smile. Just part of the Disney royal treatment!
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