All the way back in March, long before we figured out what was going on with me, Annika was here for a visit. At the time, we booked a trip to Orlando to visit Disney World. A dream both of us had for as long as we have known each other.
“To all who come to this happy place, welcome.” – Walt Disney
It is kind of a big deal for us, since both of us love Disney and neither of us has ever been. We discussed it years ago that once we were both married and had kids, and those kids were old enough to actually remember the trip, we would go together to Disney. When she was here, we decided that we should just go now already. After doing the math, by the time all that would happen we could easily be waiting another 10 years or so.
Off we went to find the best deals possible and found an amazing steal for flight and hotel. Now it wasn’t just talking about it anymore, now it really came down to booking. I talked to Jeff if it would be ok for me to go on a trip. We have never been apart for more than a night since we got married. Without hesitation he said yes, that’s a great idea, you should go. So… we booked it.
As we were going through that process, it came to the part of adding a package that lets you cancel the trip for free, in case you can’t make it for some reason. In the back of my head I was thinking we should definitely get it. I had already gone to see my new family physician and she was sending me to finally figure out why I was feeling the way I was. Annika was very optimistic however that I would be in great health, so we didn’t end up adding it.
A wish hanging in the balance
After the news of my cancer had sunk in a little, I was obviously questioning if this trip would now even be a possibility. On my second visit to Dr. S. (my surgeon)
office, the question if I would be able to go, was on the long list of questions I needed to ask him. He ensured me that from his perspective there shouldn’t be a reason I couldn’t go. All plans stayed in place for now.
When I met Dr. J. for the first time, I already prepared a list of questions I wanted to ask him. Naturally that one had made the list again. After he explained the radiation treatments and how long it would take etc. etc. He was fairly confident that the trip could still happen and there shouldn’t be a medical reason to keep me at home.
What a relief. As the time grew closer and closer and the side effects of the radiation were getting worse, many people asked me if I still wanted to go. I often got the question if I thought it wise if I did. However, I always felt that getting away from everything would do me good, so it was never really a question if we should cancel the trip or not.
I was more and more convinced that God had led us to book the trip for November because it fell right between treatments. I just finished radiation, had some time to recover and was waiting for the next thing. So, perfect timing to take a trip.
It is go time
On November 9, 2016 I got on a plane to Toronto. I have to say leaving here was maybe not one of the easier things I have done. As I had mentioned Jeff and I have never been apart that long. We have also spent even more time with each other since my surgery and subsequent stay at home. I’m not going to lie, I shed a few tears. Both as we said goodbye and on the plane.
When I got to Toronto, Annika picked me up from the airport. I spent a couple days at her house with her family. The next day we had planned to go get our nails done to match our Disney adventure. The nail salon definitely nailed what we had planned to get (pun intended 🙂 ).
Early in the morning, after about 4 or 5 hours of sleep we were off to the airport again on November 11, 2016 to go to Orlando. Oh. My. Goodness. the line ups in Toronto are insane!!!
We stood in line for security for almost 2 hours until we finally asked someone if we could skip some of it since our flight was about to leave. Plus, we still had to go through the passport control and didn’t know how long that would take. We quickly got ushered through and were waiting for pass control.
Travelling is stressful
I was soooo anxious. Let me explain why. My passport is still a German passport since I am still German citizen. That said passport has my maiden name in it. This is usually not a problem, unless you book your tickets in your married name. For whatever reason, that is what I had done. I spent multiple hours on the phone with the airlines and different agencies to figure out if I had to change my ticket or if extra documentation would be sufficient. I was told to bring extra documentation and just leave the rest as it was. Here I was passport, drivers license, permanent resident card and marriage license in hand waiting to see the customs official.
All he asked was why I’m going to the States and waved me through. It was such an answer to prayers. By the time we finally made it through all of that, the airline was already paging us overhead for final boarding calls. We just made it in time and off we went to Chicago. A 2 hour layover and another flight later and we were finally in Orlando ready to start this vacation.
It was so nice to come somewhere warm with palm trees. After getting the rental car we headed out to look for our hotel to quickly change for the night ahead. We got tickets to ‘Mickeys Christmas Party’ and also booked a dinner with the princesses, all for that first night. We got to the hotel, changed and we’re back on the road in less than an hour.
A dream is a wish your heart makes
A dream is a wish your heart makesIn order to understand how excited I was for this trip, you need to understand how much I love Disney. I think I most of it is because of the music. In High School I was also in a musical of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. I think this solidified my joy with Disney.
Sometimes it’s just so much fun to put on a Disney movie and just be a kid again for a little while. After all according to Walt Disney, “Adults are just kids grown up.”
Anyway, while we drove and got closer and closer to the park, all the signs were coming up, I turned to Annika and all smiled from
ear to ear. I just said ‘I have goosebumps’ over and over again. As we walked in it was just so mesmerizing. Since we had come to the
Christmas party, everything was decorated and fake snow was blowing from everywhere. Christmas music played and everything was just so … well magical.
Since we had dinner reservation we decided to just walk through the park and look at some things so we wouldn’t be too late for it. By the time we got to the castle where our dinner would be, we were even more excited to be there. We met Cinderella before dinner and as we were eating, Snow White, Ariel, Aurora and Jasmine made a stop at our table. We talked to them, got some signatures and picture.
The food was also delicious. After dinner we watched the fireworks from the back of the castle and just walked around a little more. We finished the evening off by watching the Christmas parade. It was such an amazing way to start this vacation.
“In a Galaxy far, far away…”
The next day we slept in, since the day before was so long. After a breakfast stop, we were off to Disney’s Hollywood studios. We did a lot of character meet and greets on our trip, which was more fun than I anticipated. I’ll share some of my favorite ones as I go along.
Since we wanted to avoid total fatigue, Annika and I agreed before we got there that we would get a wheelchair for me. We wanted to make sure I would be able to get out of bed every day to enjoy the day. So, this way, I wouldn’t have to walk very much and save energy. I have to say, after sitting in a wheelchair for 5 days, I am in awe of people in wheelchairs.
We were reminded of just how important it is to be aware of your surroundings while walking. Annika had to swerve or stop abruptly multiple times because people didn’t see us. Some saw us, but still walked right in front of the wheelchair. She even managed to almost throw me out of the wheelchair a couple times. In Magic Kingdom railway tracks go everywhere. One of the wheelchairs we had, had this affinity to get its wheels stuck in it, making the whole chair get stuck and almost catapulting me out of it. Between the dodging and sitting, I am grateful this was a temporary experience for me.
The chair definitely had its perks though too. I think we noticed that the most in Hollywood studios. We got to cut some lines and didn’t have to wait quite as long as other people.
Anyways… while in Hollywood studios we met Olaf (who really does give warm hugs) and Chewbacca (where you just get lost in a hug of fur).
Hakuna Matata
The next day we went to Animal Kingdom.
The tree of life (a man made tree, with different animal faces all around the stem) is truly a sight to see. It just looks so beautiful. Throughout the day we met Pocahontas, Rafiki (who was really sweet and helped me out of the wheelchair and walked with me to his spot where he took pictures). We met Chip & Dale, who tried to propose to us. There was also Balou and King Louie, as well as Tarzan, who sniffed Annika’s hair and told us he gets bananas when he writes/signs good.
We also watched the Lion King show which was just phenomenal. Man, those people can sing!! And again we had a perk, thanks to the wheelchair. We got to sit in the very front row and didn’t miss a thing.
“A whole new world, a new fantastic point of view”
On the third, we went to Epcot.
For those who have never been, this is the part of Disney were many countries are represented. You can also try food specific to each of those countries. We started by seeing a few more characters. First we met Joy and Sadness from the movie Inside Out and then went on to meet Anna and Elsa from Frozen.
Time for lunch came around and we had decided we wanted to do that at the Biergarten, the German restaurant. Again, it was so cool to see everything. Inside the restaurant a band played a few songs which brought back some childhood memories. Food wise this was unfortunately one of my worse days. I took a plate from the buffet and was so excited to eat it, but it hurt so much to swallow. I took my mouthwash medication to numb my throat. Since the first one didn’t help I took the second one too, and I must have overdosed myself.
After about 15 minutes I was feeling so awful. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I thought we would have to cut this day short and go back to the hotel. Every time I turned my head the whole room would start spinning. My eyes hurt a lot and I could barely concentrate on anything. At that point, eating was out the window. I tried to continue with what was on my plate and drank a lot to see if it would help. By the time we left. I was feeling much better. However, I was just disappointed that I couldn’t eat more of that amazing food but happy to have a wheelchair that I could just sit in and try to get the rest of the symptoms to go away.
“Today’s special moments, are tomorrow’s precious memories” – Genie
We spent most of the rest of the day meeting other characters and eating some food off the different country carts. Characters we met included: Mexican Donald Duck, Pluto, Alice, Mulan, Baymax and my favorite: Belle.
The people who play these characters always stay completely in character. They will talk to you as if they really are Belle or whoever you meet. With her it was just a really special encounter because she didn’t quite stay in character the whole time and we had a few real good laughs with her.
Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy
We spent our last 2 days at Magic Kingdom, meeting more characters, eating lunch in the Beasts castle and going on rides.
We didn’t do any of the big rides everyone knows like Space Mountain or Splash Mountain. I promised my chiropractor not to do the big roller coasters since I hardly have any muscles left in my neck area. The last thing I wanted to come home with was whiplash. I managed to convince Annika to go on one roller coaster with me though. The ‘Seven Dwarf Mine Train’. I believe it was one of the rides we waited for the longest but it was so worth it.
Throughout the two days we met Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, Tinkerbell, the Fairy Godmother, Tiana, Rapunzel, Ariel in mermaid form. We met Belle again, this time in her golden dress. Then there were Merida, Jasmine and Aladdin, Stitch, Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear and, probably one of the funniest encounters we had, Gaston.
I thought I would embarrass Annika a little and point out to Gaston that she is single and just see where that would go. It was absolutely hilarious. This guy is such a good improv actor that we were laughing so hard we were crying. We had gotten a pin at Epcot the day before for Canadas 150th birthday. He decided that was just lame and he needed to make it a celebration of him, so he crossed off our hometowns and signed the pins with his name. I think that meeting will be one we will talk about for a long time.
“You can’t run away from trouble. There ain’t no place that far.” – Uncle Remus, Song of the South
As we were leaving the park on the last day, I got quite emotional and actually started to cry. I think it was just hitting me in that moment that up until that point I had something so fun to look forward to every single day. Now, I was on my way back to the unknown of my cancer journey. I was going back to all the questions and concerns and not having such a major distraction as an upcoming vacation anymore.
I talked to Jeff on the phone and also to Annika and did a lot of praying. After that I was able to calm down and sleep well that last night in Orlando.
When we returned to Canada I spent a couple more days at Annika’s and we just hung out and relaxed together, before it was off to go home again.
“Because when I look at you, I can feel it. And I look at you and I’m home.” – Dory, Finding Nemo
Even though I loved the vacation and spending time with Annika and her family, it was sooo nice to come back home again, to be with Jeff and have my mom close by. My mom said it a few times since I have been back, that it seems that I really needed this trip to just forget and recharge. That’s how I feel too. I was able to recharge and not always be so gloomy.
As much as I felt guilty to be spending money when I am not making as much as before I got sick, I realize just how much I needed this get away. Realize, how well God planned for it to happen at the exact right time for me on my healing process. I am so thankful for Jeff for letting me go. Grateful to Annika for making the suggestion. I am also grateful for all the prayers that went up for me while I was gone.
I will try and make another post in the next couple of days of how things have been since I have been back. Lots of news and new insights to share with you all.
Thank you for following my journey and being there with Jeff and I every step of the way. May it be through prayers, thoughts, support or just a friendly smile as we walk by. God bless you.
