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Melissa A. Szydlek -- February 2002 -- Walt Disney World (PORR)February 7 - 15, 2002 PRE-PLANNING CAST:
Whew! It's been a hard two years for us and it's time we had a little magic in our lives! My husband and I took a belated honeymoon to Disney World in May/June of 1999. As soon as we returned and told my mom and sister how wonderful it is down there, we immediately started planning and saving for a future trip. A few days after my husband and I returned home, my mom found out she had breast cancer. The cancer started out as a marble-sized lump. It grew quickly. Mom had a mastectomy in September of 1999 followed by months of chemo and radiation treatment. In January of 2000, the cancer spread to her lungs. By March of 2000, it was still spreading despite more chemo and more radiation. In April of 2000 mom and my sister Bridgett (then 14) moved in with my hubby and I and she started on more intensive chemo. Our hope was to stop the cancer from spreading so she could get a bone marrow transplant. By June of 2000, it had spread to her brain. On June 20, 2000, the doctors told us there was no stopping the cancer. They would keep fighting it as long as my mom wanted to. They gave her 3 months to live if she kept doing the chemo. Mom decided to stop all treatment and try to live as long as she could as well as she could. The 3 of us took care of her. No nurses, no aids. We had hospice check on her every other day, but we washed and changed her, fed her when she could eat. She never got to see Disney. When she died on July 30, 2000, the cancer was all over her body. Tumors were visible all over her spine and skin. 47 years old and my mom was gone. Oh, but we're not done yet. Life isn't that kind. Exactly 3 months after mom died, our grandma died. Then on the day of my 2nd wedding anniversary, my husband went into the hospital unexpectedly and was diagnosed with cardiomyapothy. THEN, Bridgett's dad died in May of 2001. Can you see why we need this vacation? Well, Bridgett lives with us now and we've survived. I love Disney World and the most magical moments for me are going to be watching my sister's reactions to all things Disney. She doesn't remember too much about her last visit almost 10 years ago. Now she's old enough to really enjoy it, and I can't wait to experience it again with the two people I love most. August 17, 2001: I made reservations today! We're GOING to Disney World! I'm letting Disney Travel Company handle the details. I'm not planning this too heavily. I've read my Passporter from cover to cover about 5 times as well as being on Mouseplanet.com every single day, and I know what and when we are going to do things. I'll make my Priority Seating arrangements myself in October for Boma, Hollywood & Vine, and Le Cellier. Other than that, we'll eat when we're hungry and I don't care where. Here's are our arrangements so far:
I am a member of the Disney Club, but no 2002 discounts were available. They said I had to call back and they would "see if there were any discount rooms available once the Disney Club discounts were announced." Ok. Whatever. I don't care. Disney isn't getting any cheaper, so I'm not shopping around. The only thing that matters is - We're going to Disney! Only 174 days to go! Melissa A. Szydlek Nikolaos03@aol.com Mail a Comment to Melissa A. Szydlek |
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