In her short life, four year old Taryn has experienced more challenges than most. Diagnosed in 2007 with Acute Myelocytic Leukemia, Taryn spent the following year undergoing aggressive treatment for the disease.  Since then she has been tested regularly to make sure she remains in remission. When it came time for Taryn and family to turn their attention from her illness to the possibility of a wish, it was a welcome change of focus.  Taryn knew immediately what she wanted more than anything in the world; a trip with her family to Disneyland!

Taryn, her parents, and two brothers Cale and Tate, spent a week together exploring all the wonders that Disneyland and the surrounding attractions had to offer. Although magical from start to finish, for Taryn and family a few highlights come to mind. In a letter to Children’s Wish upon their return, Taryn’s mother Dione shares: “Taryn talks a lot of her princess makeover at the Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique and being magically transformed into Tinkerbelle as well as loving the Matterhorn Bobsled ride at Disneyland. All of the kids loved Legoland and SeaWorld, especially the Shamu Show, and they all still giggle about the crazy orangutans putting on a show for us at the San Diego Zoo. Taryn and Tate also found a new love in the ocean. Even though the weather was bad that day, they had an incredible time chasing the waves back and forth!”

Wishes often mark a new beginning for families whose lives have been wrought with devastating illness. For Taryn and family, their week in Disneyland was spent reconnecting as a family away from hospital visits, tests and the fears and uncertainties that illness brings. Dione concluded her letter in saying: “This trip was truly an amazing gift and we couldn't have asked for a better ending to a difficult chapter in Taryn's young life. It is a memory that we will all cherish for a lifetime. You are truly dream makers, Thank You!”