BLAINE – Two families from the North Metro found out they will be taking a much-needed vacation in warmer temps, just in time for the oncoming winter—and it’s all paid for. But they are getting an escape not just from the everyday hustle-and-bustle and daily demands of raising young children. The trips will also be respites from the demands of fighting life-threatening illnesses.
Wishes & More, based in Fridley, surprised both the Jaeger and Christen families during a presentation at SkyZone in Blaine on October 2. The families thought they were just getting a free afternoon of play time at the facility, which routinely donates time to the program.
Instead, Wishes & More President Karla Blomberg presented the Jaeger family with an expenses-paid trip to Walt Disney World in Florida and the Christen family with an expenses-paid Disney Cruise.
“The week he was diagnosed, we were supposed to go on a family vacation,” said Melissa Jaeger. Her two-year-old son, Leo, was diagnosed with Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis. She and her husband, Tom, both say the trip comes at the perfect time.
“This is everything to us,” she said.
The Christen family, including six-year-old Hunter, who was diagnosed two years ago with Leukemia, will board a Disney Cruise where he hopes to go fishing and dine on his favorite delicacy: crab legs. He was very specific with the Wishes & More staff as they worked to make his wish a reality.
“He’s got a one-track mind,” said Hunter’s dad, Jason. “If there’s something that he loves or something that he wants to do, that’s all he talks about.”
“He’s had a lot of things the past two years—whether because of side effects or treatment itself—we’ve had to put off,” said his mother, Kelsey. “There’s been a lot of sacrifices throughout this journey, so we’re excited for a chance to let loose a little bit.”
Blomberg said her staff has granted nearly 1,200 wishes to families across Minnesota and bordering states.
“It never gets old!” she said with a huge smile.
For trips like the wishes granted to the two families, Blomberg said the excitement begins with the planning stages, then to the experience itself, and continues on long after.
“(The families) will have photos and memories to talk about among themselves and to their friends forever,” she said.
Wishes & More also grants graduating high school seniors $2,000 for higher education costs and helps establish gifts in memory of children (ages 0-19) who may lose their life to the disease they’ve battled. Blomberg said the idea of granting these wishes and providing this level of support goes beyond just providing the immediate family with a week of fun in the sun.
“They say that every child has at least 100 people that are behind them, cheering them on,” she said. “We’re able to do something they can all enjoy because they know it’s (a) special moment.”
