Hello Family & Friends!
As some of you may know, I’m Amber (Arielle’s sister) or Aunt Ber as Christian calls me. I’m leading the campaign to help my sweet nephew get his volcano wish. Please read their story below. If you are able to help donate a monetary gift towards his much deserved trip that would be very much appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read all about Christian’s journey.
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Our journey began in November of 2016. At the time, our boys were 2 and 4. Our youngest, Christian, had started bruising in strange places and my mama intuition would not let it go. After a few weeks of more intense bruising, and eventually facial bruising, we went to the doctor and were immediately referred to get blood work. Our sweet little blueberry eyed boy was diagnosed with Cancer, specifically Leukemia. We were absolutely devastated but he started treatment immediately. The next few months were a blur as we were forced to settle into our new life as a cancer family. Christian had a bone marrow biopsy, spinal tap, and port placed to start his treatment. There was 10 months of intense chemo, where we dealt with a lot of isolation and sickness and hospital stays, followed by two and a half years of maintenance chemo to keep him in remission. These were some wild years for us, especially when my husband was in a near fatal motorcycle accident a year and a half into Christian's treatment. Unfortunately, life has put us through the wringer. Fortunately, we know Jesus- and He has kept our heads above water! He provided for us through the hands and hearts of those around us, and we are thankful beyond words for that.
Christian was approved for a wish through the Make a Wish organization in spring of 2019. What he wanted more than anything was to see a volcano!! And by golly, he deserved it!! (He actually wanted to swim in a volcano, but we nixxed that for obvious reasons lol) We went into the planning phase for his wish and were hoping to go to Hawaii fall of 2020.
Christian was able to take his last chemo in February of 2020, right before the world shut down. We were so excited and so terrified simultaneously! We hated chemo, but recognized that it was like a safety net. Without that, we were left with the fallout and also the fear.
When the world halted in spring of 2020, we knew Christian's wish would be put on hold. He was such a trooper! Waiting patiently for a year and a half, he rarely asked about it but we'd find him excitedly reading his volcano books some sweet friends gave us. We were willing to wait however long was needed for our son's wish to be granted.
After waiting 2 more years, we were devastated when Make a Wish made the decision to deny Christian's wish. The organization let us know that unless we were all Covid vaccinated, including our 7 year old cancer survivor, then a volcano was not an option. They limited our travel possibilities to no air travel or large gatherings. We asked for a waiver, exemption, anything to take the responsibility off of them. They refused, and said this would be the policy going forward.
It broke my heart when Christian told me he wanted to give his volcano books away. We thought long and hard about this, prayed about what was best for Christian, and concluded that our little boy deserved his wish- even if Make a Wish wasn't involved. We knew that the community who had surrounded us and held us up for these 5 years would join us in pushing back against this ridiculous overreach. Christian has had so many chemicals and poisons injected in his body, and his father and I decided not to give him this experimental shot. That is our choice, and we won't be bullied into it for a trip. If we do not have control over our bodies and those of our children, what freedom do we have left?
So here we are, granting the wish of this special boy!! We'd be honored if you would partner with us! Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!
~ Kyle, Arielle, Micah & Christian Black
