Meet Annick
Dear Friend of The Dream Factory,
Since Annick was 4-months-old, our lives have revolved around medical appointments, blood counts, pills, temperature readings, emergency room visits and hospital admissions. Dealing with these situations and procedures has been hard for us, but we have also been struggling with the fact that this is how our lives are going to be from now on.
Meet Annick
A priceless princess makeover and dream come true.
Since Annick was 4-months-old, our lives have revolved around medical appointments, blood counts, pills, temperature readings, emergency room visits and hospital admissions. Dealing with these situations and procedures has been hard for us, but we have also been struggling with the fact that this is how our lives are going to be from now on. Annick’s illness has no cure. This is our new normal. My life has changed because of this, my husband’s life has changed because of this, and my older daughter Callie’s life has changed because of this.
Our family trip to Disney World was a breath of fresh air. It was the first time our family of four took a trip that did not include a medical conference. This trip gave us SO MUCH JOY and the girls LOVED everything about it.
“Annick’s dream trip to Disney World was more than a one-week family getaway. It was a week of love, happiness, rest and joy. These are the feelings that Annick relives and feels every time we talk about our trip, look at pictures or play with the (many!) toys we brought back.”
The Princess Makeover truly topped the cake. For one day, both my girls truly became princesses. The look of happiness in their eyes as they picked out their dresses, hairstyles and makeup was priceless. We will cherish these memories and photos for years to come. I often catch the girls “playing makeover” at home, putting on the dresses and make-up on each other! Thank you.
Tomorrow is Annick’s yearly bone marrow biopsy. This is a very painful procedure for her that she gets every year to evaluate how her bone marrow failure disease is progressing. It tells us if it’s time yet or not for a bone marrow transplant. This will be Annick’s fifth biopsy. As we prepare her bag for her hospital day, Annick tells me, “I need to bring my Disney stuffies, that way I can cuddle with them when I wake up!” She then proceeds to pack Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse AND Sven the Reindeer!
You see, Annick’s dream trip to Disney World was more than a one-week family getaway. It was a week of love, happiness, rest and joy. These are the feelings that Annick relives and feels every time we talk about our trip, look at pictures or play with the (many!) toys we brought back. It’s no wonder she wants her Disney stuffed toys with her during this difficult and painful bone marrow biopsy day. The stuffed toys bring her back to this wonderful week and help her to keep going during difficult times. For that, we are eternally grateful. As parents of a chronically ill child, our greatest joy is to see her happy and see her pain lessened. Thank you for helping us accomplish that.
We will be forever grateful to The Dream Factory. We hope to be able to give back to this organization one day and pass on this incredible gift to another family.