Dream vacations
Children’s Wish Foundation sending Truro residents on dream vacations
Two young people from Truro will be enjoying exciting vacations — one in the south, the other out west — after having their wishes granted by Children’s Wish.
Two young people from Truro will be enjoying exciting vacations after having their wishes granted by the Children’s Wish Foundation.
Shane Oderkirk and Katelyn Higgins will set out on family vacations, allowing them a chance to get away and leave their worries behind.
“We were awarded a trip to Disney World in Florida,” said John Higgins, Katelyn’s father.
“We’re heading up there to stay at the resort in Kissimmee and we’re going to take in Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, SeaWorld, a couple of the waterparks and stuff like that. We’re really looking forward to it.”
Katelyn, 12, was diagnosed with Pallister Killian Syndrome, a chromosome abnormality that has left her with fine movement issues and low muscle tone and she is non-verbal.
“She’s also been diagnosed with epilepsy and autism. We’ve been dealing with a lot of seizures this year so she’s been spending quite a bit of time at home, so I think this trip will be really good for her,” said Melissa, Katelyn’s mother.
The Higgins family chose Disney World due to Katelyn’s love of movies like Finding Nemo, fast rides and swimming. They leave Tuesday for a weeklong getaway to the south.
“Winter’s really not her favourite season,” said John Higgins.
“With her mobility issues, she doesn’t like being bundled up in snowsuits and stuff. She loves the warm weather, so getting down there is going to be great for her. It’ll be a good way to transition into the spring and summer weather.”
While one family heads south to soak up the sun, the Oderkirks are heading west for a video game-inspired family vacation.
“We’re going to Washington state to visit Bungie Studios,” said Shane, an avid gamer.
“Bungie makes my favourite game, Destiny 2. They also make a whole line of other games too, like the Halo franchise. I’m super excited to meet the developers and see how things are done on their end, how the games are made.”
Shane, 17, suffers from an immune deficiency condition that frequently causes severely overwhelming pneumonia. He fell in love with Destiny, an online multiplayer first person shooter game, when it came out and it quickly became his favourite pastime.
While in Washington, Oderkirk and his family will spend a day at Bungie Studios, where he will learn how his favourite game was made. There will be a tour of the facility and he also gets to try out the studio’s motion capturing technology.
“For us it’s just exciting for all of us to get away and not have to worry about anything else,” said Brandi Oderkirk, Shane’s mother.
“We’re a big family, there’s mom, dad and six kids, so we don’t often get to go and stay in new places or go on big vacations, so it’s nice that way.”
Katelyn and Shane were presented with their wishes at the Children’s Wish Foundation’s biannual Krispy Kreme fundraiser held at Truro Mazda Thursday. The fundraiser takes orders for Krispy Kreme donuts that families can purchase.
“We sell them per dozen which are presold online, and this year we have 4,000 dozen coming in for the province,” said Lloyd Berliner, Truro coordinator for Children’s Wish.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s a great fundraiser for us and helps us grant wishes like the ones we’ve granted today.”
Granting wishes can cost the foundation anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each, so fundraisers are held throughout the year to help with some of those costs.
“We are always happy to welcome new people willing to help out,” said Berliner.
“We do our walk in October, which is our largest fundraiser here in Truro, and there are always things to do. We’re always looking for more volunteers.”