COLORADO SPRINGS — The COVID-19 pandemic continues to create uncertainty, especially for families of children who are critically ill.
In response to the pandemic, Make-A-Wish Colorado had to make the difficult decision to postpone travel related wishes. The organization says more than 70 wishes have been postponed.
The Corado family had been excited for their trip to Disney World. Their six-year-old daughter Makenlee has a severe form of epilepsy which puts her at risk of SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy).
"She's always had uncontrollable epilepsy. In the beginning she was having about 100 seizures if not more a day. We've tried several different medications and nothing was controlling those seizures," said Marissa Corado, mother. "One type of epilepsy she has is absence epilepsy which is the staring seizures. Those were the ones she was having almost all of the time."
Marissa says when her seizures began getting worst they decided to move from South Dakota to Colorado Springs for better treatment. The state was able to transfer her wish and after a year long process, they received a call from the Make-A-Wish foundation in Colorado.
"They called her on her birthday, and they asked her, what is one thing you want to do and she said I want to go somewhere magical," said Marissa.
So, she choose the most magical place on earth, Disney World.
"What she wants is to have a princess makeover, go on a bunch of rides, meet Moana and see turtles," said Marissa. "It's so great to see the light in her face, I never knew she wanted to do those things."
Before they could decide on a date for their trip, the Make-A-Wish Foundation made the decision to postpone all travel wishes until next year. The organization gave the family two options, postpone their trip or do a local trip.
With the recent move to the Springs, Marissa says the local wish wasn't an option since they don't have enough space to host it. They also didn't want Makenlee to miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity.
"We had to move here for her medical condition. We had to start off from scratch so things like that, we have not worked up to. We don't have our own house so we can't have a more local wish," said Marissa.
After talking with Makenlee about both options, they all agreed on a decision.
"We have actually, with Makenlee's permission, decided to wait the year long process for Disney World. It was a hard decision because we don't know when it could be her last or what seizure could take her," said Marissa.
Marissa says Disney World not only means a lot to Makenlee, but her siblings who've helped her along this journey.
"Everytime she has a seizure, I tell mom or dad or I try to help her and get her pillows and blankets for when she snaps out of it," said Mia Corado, sister.
While they wait for their trip, Marissa hopes the community will help them put together something small.
"She lives a hard life so I think anything small would be magical," said Marissa. "If someone wants to help Makenlee, things they can help with, a space to do a magical day for her or even if you know someone who wants to dress up as a Disney princess for a day."
Anyone interested in helping out the family with a space can contact them via email at marissa.kcorado@gmail.com.
