Father dashes Make-A-Wish dream for daughter
Whitney Hughes and daughter McKenna May (Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune)The mother and grandmother of 4-year-old McKenna May, who survived leukemia, are collecting money to get the little Ohio girl to Disney World after her father nixed a Make-A-Wish trip to the theme park.
McKenna's father, William May of Toledo, said using Make-A-Wish money for a child who is "free and clear" of illness is an improper use of donations made to the organization. "I think it should go to kids who only have six months to live," he told the Sentinel-Tribune of Bowling Green, Ohio.
The charity requires that parents have to sign off for a child to accept a trip.
After going through two years of cancer treatment that included spinal taps, chemotherapy and hospitalizations because of reactions to the treatments, McKenna's mother, Whitney Hughes, and grandmother, Lori Helppie, feel she deserves the trip.
So they've pulled their family's request with Make-A-Wish and are placing collection jars around the community to raise the needed $3,500 to fund the trip on their own.
The important thing is to get her there," Helppie told the newspaper. "She loves Mickey Mouse. She loves Cinderella." "She's really excited," Hughes said. "It's all she's talked about for the last three months."
Helppie and Hughes are outraged at May's refusal and claim McKenna's father is just trying to get back at them over visitation privileges. May was just granted visitation earlier this year, according to the Sentinel-Tribune.
The father, however, blames McKenna's mother and grandmother for keeping him from seeing his daughter. "I wasn't allowed to be involved," May said. "It ticked me off."
Susan McConnell, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish for Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, said that McKenna clearly qualifies for a wish since she has gone through so much in her two-year struggle to beat leukemia, the newspaper reported.
McConnell said it is unfortunate that the family yanked their request for a wish since the father wouldn't sign off. "She's been through a lot," she said of McKenna. "What I really feel bad about is she is stuck in the middle."
What do you think of this? Who do you agree with?
Exactly!!! I worked with a lady whose son had leukemia. It went into remission several times over several years!! In the end, his poor body couldn't take it anymore and he unfortunately, passed away. : (
The 'dad' sounds like a total douche!!!! I have a friend whose son had a life-threatening liver disease. He got a Make-a Wish trip to Disneyland, he's also gotten several other free vacations thru other programs. He is doing just fine now!! Should his family now have to pay back all the money they were given for those trips b/c he's ALIVE and HEALTHY??? NO!!!! I feel so bad for that poor little girl!!! If I had the funds, I would gladly send her mom a check to cover their entire trip and give extra for souveniers too!!! I hope they are able to raise the money and she gets to go!!! She totally deserves to go!!
Quoting PoehlerBear1983:
I think that she deserves it. Just because she is in remission does not mean she is "free and clear"
I think he's an asshole. The point is, that poor little girl hasn't had a normal childhood, and make a wish is just trying to make a little girl's dream come true. It's not just for DYING children. Thank God she's in remission! But she still deserves to be treated to a childhood dream. Poor baby :(
I understood his reasoning UNTIL it was made clear that he did it as payback. He even said that it made him mad that he couldn't see her... which really made it seem like retaliation to me.
I think when a little kid goes through all that, there was JUST as much of a chance of her dying as those given the 6 months... she got lucky and survived. I don't think she should be denied the trip because she did get through it.
Make a Wish Foundation and Disney work very hard to make the children comfortable and the trip enjoyable. This father is a wonderful man for letting this trip go to some child that doesn't have much time left. I bet visitation with hiim is fun fun fun because he is a man with a generous heart.
Quoting Venae:Children with 6 months to live can be pretty freaking sick - they wouldn't even be able to enjoy the trip! This guys is a real dick. Sarah824 is right - if Make-A-Wish isn't concerned that she's not in death's grip, then he shouldn't be either. I bet visitation w/him is fun, fun, fun.
I agee with the dad, a child who is free and clear of any illness should not be granted a wish. Not when their is so many other kids, money is limited and the application takes a very very long time. When my friend got her wish, she was 17 years old and dying. She wanted to go to Japan. The make-a-wish foundation could not grant her wish but instead gave her a $5,000 shopping spree at west edmonton mall. She passed away in April at 19. Cystic Fiberosis really sucks. We had talked about this at length when she was still alive.
The truth is this child has her whole life ahead of her, she will not die in a few months or days or years due to illness. There are so many other kids that need wishes too.
Damn her for surviving. *sarcasm* Seriously, honey...we're sorry your gonna live...now you don't get your trip to Disney. Be sicker, that's all I gotta say.
That's stupid. If Make-a-wish was going to grant the wish then he should have let them. I know a little girl who got her wish for Disney granted and she's currently in remission and when her wish was granted she didn't only have 6 months to live.
I think it is up to the Make A Wish Foundation who they would like to offer a wish to. Clearly the organization chose this little girl completely aware of her health conditions. If the organization offered it then it's not our place to judge if we think 'it should go to someone sicker.' I feel terrible that the dad said no, but the other side of the family wants to make the little girls wish come true & that's wonderful.
From what I read on another website, they were never married. I think she didn't let him be a part of the birth or anything. Not being allowed to see her, I guess he is angry.
If she kept the girl from him for a reason, then maybe she should not have included him on anything... a simple I don't know who the dad is would have sufficed.
Yikes, what a crappy way to try to get back at your ex! It sounds like the noble, "right" thing to do, to save it for a kid who is dying, but who would deny their kid something so great just to get back at an ex-spouse?! I can see why she divorced him and didn't want him to have visitation, he sounds like a jerk!!
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- sarah824
on Jul. 18, 2012 at 3:56 PM