An online campaign to send a terminally ill eight-year-old B.C. boy on a Disney cruise with his family is gaining momentum.
His family has been told it will likely be the last vacation for Caleb McLean of Langley, whose cancer has returned, two years after he was first operated on.
Father Travis McLean said attempts to remove one of two resurgent tumors have only been partially successful, and doctors have told them Caleb only has months to live.
âI donât believe them,â McLean said, struggling to keep his composure.
âI think my son is a fighter. Heâs going to defeat the odds.â
When a visitor from Make-A-Wish BC and Yukon, a charity that grants wishes to seriously ill kids, asked Caleb what he would like, he said he wanted to go on the âDisney boatâ with his mother, father and all five siblings.
That was more than the foundation could cover, and the family was told the trip would only be possible with Caleb, both his parents, and just one of his five siblings.
âItâs unfortunate,â Travis said.
âI have nothing against Make-A-Wish. I can kind of see where theyâre coming from. You donât realize how many kids have cancer [and would qualify to have their wish granted by the foundation] until youâve been to an oncology ward.â
Calebâs aunt Danielle Glynn responded by setting up an online gofundme campaign called to raise the estimated $45,000 it would cost to sent Caleb, his parents and all five siblings on his dream vacation.
âHeâs a big heart in a little body,â a tearful Glynn said of her nephew. âHe lights up the room with his smile.â
In the first three days, more than 190 people have donated about $23,000 to the campaign and the pace of contributions has picked up as word spreads, Glynn said.
Like her brother, Glynn said she understands the foundation has to stay within a budget, and she has nothing bad to say about it.
But asking a family to choose which of five children will accompany their brother on his last vacation âjust sucks,â Glynn said.
âHow do you pick which sibling?â
A spokesperson for Make-A-Wish BC and Yukon, Stuart Chase, said they are discussing an âalternateâ arrangement with the family that would be within the foundationâs budget.
âThatâs the reality we work with every day.â said Chase, the marketing and communications director for the charity.
âWe are totally donation-based, not government funded.â
Chase had nothing but positive things to say about the family GoFundMe initiative for Caleb.
âItâs really awesome that theyâre going to bat for him,â Chase said.
_________________________________
Is there more to this story?
roxanne.hooper@langleyadvancetimes.com
Like us on or follow us on
_________________________________
