Kathy and Lee Brandt might have done their absolute best to keep the biggest secret ever from 11-year-old daughter Melina, but when it's something this huge, well, that's a tall task indeed.
First there was the party that was scheduled, beginning with skating at the Kinsmen Sportsplex and then a special gathering for family and friends at the Alliance Church.
“I knew something was up because Mom was being really secretive, she wasn't saying a lot about what was going on,” Melina said. “But I was thinking something might happen this week, and then one of my friends told me we were having a skating party...”
The real giveaway? When Melina set eyes on Allyson Toye, the regional manager the Make-a-Wish Saskatchewan.
Toye had met with Melina and the Brandt Family – which also includes dad Lee and younger sister Sara – in October to determine if Melina was a candidate and to also get an idea of what destination would most fit the Grade 6 Lindale student if she was chosen.
“We ask each of our wish children to make three wishes of where they'd like to go or what they'd like to do, then we sit down with them and, based on their personality, we choose what wish is best for them,” Toye said. “When we sat down with her and her family, Disney World was what excited her the most and got the biggest reaction when asking her what she wanted to do.”
And so, with what was actually a special reveal party on the afternoon of Oct. 9 at the Alliance Church, it was officially announced that the Brandt Family were off to Disney World.
To say the least, it's a hard-earned trip.
Melina was born with a double inlet left ventricle, a heart malformation that results in such inefficient blood flow that chances of survival beyond infancy are greatly reduced and future quality of life is severely impacted.
That resulted in three major heart surgeries, all taking place in Edmonton – one at four weeks old, a second at two-and-a-half months old, and a final surgery at the age of three.
“It was hard, it was tough,” Kathy said. “There was a lot of travelling, and she was scared of surgical masks for the first couple of years of her life, she didn't like them at all. But now she's completely fine, she can hit a ball out to centrefield like anyone else.”
Melina's beaming smile as she opened the gift box containing the Disney World announcement said everything anyone needed to know. Kathy and Lee had heard about the Make-a-Wish trip weeks earlier, though, and their reaction was what you could expect.
“I cried, I absolutely bawled,” Kathy said of the initial phone call from Toye. “We've known for awhile where we're going, what resort we're going to... it doesn't seem like it's happening, but it really is.
“It's a little surreal,” Lee added. “It hasn't sunk in yet and we're just anticipating the day happening when it happens.”
The Disney World resort in Orlando, Fla. actually has a dedicated Make-a-Wish 'compound' on site that further enhances the experience for trip recipients, with Toye revealing a special bonus that Melina was all about.
“I'm looking forward to eating ice cream for breakfast every day,” Melina said with a laugh. “And the rides and meeting the characters and everything else down there. It's going to be so much fun... It's like I'm in a dream and I can't wait to go.”
The announcement was one of four for Toye throughout Saskatchewan that day and included an interesting coincidence – Moose Jaw's Maia Boyer and her family were leaving on a Make-a-Wish Disney Cruise that very same day, with Maia having recovered from a similar surgery to Melina.
“I have the best job in the world,” Toye said. “Melina didn't really know what was going one, she saw me today and her face lit up. When the kids see me and they realize their wishes are coming true is really amazing.”
Make-a-Wish Saskatchewan is currently working on 79 wishes in the province, with the Christmas season a focus for grants.
“It's the most magical time of the year, being Christmas, and it's our busiest time,” Toye said. “We're really excited to be helping so many kids out, and we're really excited that Melina and her family are off to Disney World in January.”
