January 2009
What better way to spend Thanksgiving than at the most magical place on earth…Disney World! That is exactly what Arielle did with her mom, dad and sisters. Arielle is a 6-year-old girl who suffers from the blood disease, Sickle Cell Anemia. She has battled this disease since birth.
Arielle and her family stayed at Give Kids the World and had their very own villa. The magic started as soon as they reached the Orlando Airport when they were greeted by a GKTW volunteer, Phil. The week started off with a bang with a visit to SeaWorld. Arielle even got to touch a dolphin. The next day, they visited Universal Studios and met all sorts of characters from Dora the Explorer to Frank the Dog from Men In Black 2. Wednesday, Arielle visited the Animal Kingdom and went on a safari. Thanksgiving Day, she and her family took it easy at Give Kids The World followed that evening by the famous Magic Kingdome parade and fireworks. Arielle ended her week at the Magic Kingdom, her favorite park, where she visited and had pictures made with all the Disney princesses. She even watched the parade again that night where Cinderella, whom she had met earlier, waved right at her. Each night after visiting the parks, Arielle had to visit the Ice Cream Parlor at Give Kids the World. What better way to end the day.
Arielle unfortunately had to spend part of this holiday season in the hospital; however, this time she had the wonderful memories of her trip to Give Kids the World to help get well quickly.
