Ally's Wish

From the website http://allyswish.org/:

"Ally’s Wish
was founded to grant the wishes of moms

 suffering with terminal illness.

Our hope is to create a pause

in the pain and hardship

and provide lasting and joyful memories."

My husband surprised me by nominating me for a wish. Mark wrote:

Please tell us about the diagnosis and history of the mom’s illness:

"Sarah was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in Sept 2009. She had been having back pain so bad she knew something was wrong. She had 5 visits to the doctor over 8 months time, every time telling her that the pain was because she was either overweight (a little), her clothes were too tight (not even close), or that she had lifted our 4 year old wrong. She had asked for a MRI every visit, but was told it was a waste of time, that those machines did not show pain…. On the last visit she forced the issue. On the way out of the office the Doctor that finally ordered the MRI muttered, “What do you think that you are going to see? Tumors?” The result of the MRI was tumors in every visible bone scanned. 

Over the past 5 years we have tried many treatments that have controlled the disease for awhile, but then stops working. Over the past 3 months, Sarah has been on an phase 2 Trial of an FRG1 2 and 3 inhibitor hoping that would slow tumor growth. Unfortunately it did not, and things have spread to her liver and lungs. Her Oncologist says that if we can’t find a way to control this, we have 6 months at best."

Tell us in detail about the mom's Wish:

"Sarah’s wish is to travel with her girls and husband to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. It’s something she’s always wanted to do. When she found out that life may be a bit shorter then expected, this is the family adventure she said that she really wanted to do. She has also mentioned Iceland and Banff Canada, but the one that holds most dear is Paris."


I was contacted by Ally's Wish and they talked to me about places I would like to go with my family. I told them about Paris, but with all the unrest in that part of the world they did not want to put my family in harms way. I asked about Kauai, but they said their funds are limited and the cost of flying five people there were too high, however they said they could send us to Oahu. We wrote back and forth by email. Part of me felt this was no longer my wish, but when it came down to it, Oahu is still Hawaii.

On February 23, we got an email that said they worked out a trip with a travel date of March 8. We were all feeling a little rushed but super excited! We had to let them know by the end of the day to book the trip.

That morning, we headed to the hospital to see Ireane and to share this news with her, but when we got there and entered her room I knew Ireane would not be with us much longer. I looked at Mark and told him we can't go with your mom this sick. We contacted Ally's Wish to tell them our trip was on hold...

After Ireane went to Heaven, we regrouped and asked if we could go at the end of March. Mark mentioned that the girls were on Spring Break and we didn't want to go over two weekends. They came back with March 12-18. We jumped on it and booked the trip!!!

Everything was happening so quickly. In the whirlwind days of packing and planning, people asked me if I was excited. I always answered YES, but in my heart this trip is bittersweet. This trip to Hawaii is a dream, but it came to me on the condition that my time is coming to an end.