 Dream Stories
 Coleton is such a courageous little boy who has been through so much in his young life. Please read the story below from Coleton's mom and dad:
"Let me introduce you to our son and superhero, Coleton.
He is only 4 years old and is battling cancer. Already in his short life, he has been through three years of chemotherapy, countless needles, and numerous trips to the dreaded emergency room. And still, you will never see him without a smile...
Coleton was really excited when he found out that he was eligible for a dream from The Rainbow Society. When we met with Grace Thomson from the organization, Coleton's exact words were "I wish I could see Spider Man with my best friend Iggy". Iggy is actually his cousin, whom he adores.
It was not a surprise to hear those words come out of Cole’s mouth as Spiderman is his hero. Whenever the treatments were more than he could bear, we told him to pretend that he was Spiderman to get him through.
After the initial meeting with The Rainbow Society, everything seemed to happen so fast. Just like that, we were off to Disney World to meet the web crawler himself. It was such a relief to have everything go so smoothly. When we landed in Florida, we were greeted at the airport and ushered to our waiting rental car. And then it was time for our stay at Give Kids the World Village.
Well, let me tell you, Coleton and Iggy had found their paradise. Ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Ice Cream Palace (ok it was my paradise as well), Village Idol, Village Christmas, and Village Festivals. Every day, all day... the village was just pure magic.
We visited all the amazing parks and just loved it, but Coleton and Iggy were still waiting to meet the web crawler. Our mission was to track down Spiderman and corner him for a photo and autograph. We searched and searched and there was no sign of the elusive web slinger.
"THERE'S SPIDERMAN” shouted Coleton, pointing at a cardboard cut-out of his favorite super hero. There was a sign that said photos with Spiderman at 1:30 pm. Coleton and Iggy ran to the line-up, where we were all promptly intercepted by Universal Staff, and escorted out of the line. We were told to wait out of sight, behind the Doomsday ride.
A few minutes later, we heard some roaring engines, getting louder and louder, and they were approaching our location, and…WOW!! The entire Marvel Superhero ensemble road in on quad runners for a private meet and greet just for Coleton.
Coleton was totally speechless! But he managed to give Spiderman and big hug, and a high-five! Of course we took as many pictures as possible to remember this moment, even though Coleton was still astonished and without words. Coleton was thrilled when Spiderman gave him an autographed picture!
When Spidey and his crew left, Coleton finally spoke up, "I can't believe my wish came true. I got to meet Spider Man." It is hard to put to words how much this dream meant to Coleton and our family. Thank you to The Rainbow Society and all the donors for your kindness and generosity which allowed Coleton to meet his superhero."
 Zachary
A Mother's Letter:
Why Dreams Are Important
"A parent's greatest fear is the loss of their child. Imagine, in one brief moment, your life is turned upside down and your greatest fears are a possibility. As a parent, your job is to protect your child, and when you are no longer steering that ship, your life is out of control.
You desperately want your life back and for things to be “normal” again. Life is no longer “normal,” and that is your new reality. Zachary is our inspiration. It is truly amazing that a twelve-year-old could experience what he experienced and maintain such courage, strength and hope…. Here is his story…….
One weekend Zachary started to notice some bruising…..even the shower made him bruise. Very quickly we found out that Zachary had severe aplastic anemia, which is an extremely rare blood condition and the cause is unknown. Aplastic anemia is when the bone marrow no longer has enough cells to produce white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. Zachary was at extreme risk for major infections and bleeds. The only treatment for Zachary was a bone marrow transplant. By the end of that week Zachary was hospitalized.
The scariest part of this chapter is that Zachary bled into his brain. I’m sure everyone on that health care team could feel the pain that Zachary was experiencing. It was truly a nightmare. Zachary required emergency brain surgery to stop the bleeding. We were kept well informed at how risky this surgery would be. Thank God (and the surgeon) that Zachary made it through. They needed to move quickly now with the bone marrow transplant while there was still time.
We were extremely fortunate that Jay, Zachary’s 15-year-old brother, was a sibling match. Jay is definitely our hero! The best way to describe a bone marrow transplant is that it is a miracle. Every day we watched the blood levels to see if the bone marrow was growing. The day we heard that the bone marrow transplant was working was one of the best days of our lives. After several months Zachary was able to come home. We had to be extremely careful that he did not get an infection of any kind. He could not go to public places and needed to be tutored at home. It took about a year before Zachary would be well enough to enjoy his dream.
Our meeting at Rainbow Society was amazing. The staff told Zachary that Rainbow Society was there to make his dreams come true. Zachary was speechless. Zachary wanted to go to Disney World and he wanted his brother Jay to swim with the dolphins, because Jay loved the ocean wildlife. It is difficult to describe the feelings we had after that meeting. To realize that people, who don’t even know you, are so kind and thoughtful. To allow a child and their family to experience some fun after such a challenging year was life altering…To allow a child to dream….
Our week in Disney World was definitely what dreams are made of. There is a special village called “Give Kids the World” for wish families and Zachary received the ‘royal’ treatment. We were able to enjoy Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World and Medieval Knights. Our greatest day was at Discovery Cove where we snorkeled with salt water fish, stingrays and swam with the dolphins. It was paradise!!
Zachary’s dream has rejuvenated our family. When something this difficult happens to your family it initially brings them together, but the stress takes its toll over time, and you feel that things start to fall apart. Zachary’s dream came at the right time and has left us with great memories that will remain with us forever… No matter what life deals us!
Words can not express our appreciation for making Zachary’s dream a reality. At a moment when you feel your family is falling apart… it is the glue that keeps us together again. Thank you to everyone who donates… You are our unsung heroes!"
 Eva is a tender hearted teenager that has battled through a kidney transplant, as well as having tumours removed from her thyroid. Even though this young girl has been through a lot, it didn't stop her from dreaming about a bedroom makeover decorated with dolphins and seashells. When Eva opened the door to her new room, all she could say was "WOW! This is more than I could wish for. It is so amazing!"
A special thanks to the Grant Design Group for treating Eva like a special client and giving her a dream bedroom makeover!
 Angela is a precious three year old girl and loves to dress up like a princess. Sadly, Angela was diagnosed with cancer at the age of two. Please read the letter below from Angela's mom on what a dream come true meant for their family:
"My husband and I were blessed with two beautiful daughters. We had the perfect family. That was until July of 2005. We were shocked and terrified when our youngest daughter, two-year-old Angela, was diagnosed with a rare, very aggressive cancer called neuroblastoma. We just couldn’t believe it. The next year was very difficult - it felt like we were in the hospital all the time due to doctor appointments, chemotherapy treatments, surgeries, radiation, pills, and a stem transplant. Our whole family was affected greatly by this horrible disease, especially Angela and her very protective five-year-old sister, who missed her Mommy and little sister terribly when we had to be in the hospital.
When Angela turned three, and was in the middle of her treatment, we learned that she was eligible for a dream from The Rainbow Society. After Angela was done her transplant and radiation, we had to wait about six months for her immune system to recover enough to be out in public. During this time, Angela decided that her dream was to see Cinderella and Winnie the Pooh. Angela, and our entire family, was given something happy to look forward to during a very hard time. After meeting with The Rainbow Society, Angela’s dream trip to Disney World was booked for September.
Everyone, especially the little girls, were so excited. Counting the sleeps until our first plane ride and first vacation was such a happy time. When the day finally arrived to leave for Florida, all the terror and sadness of the last year gave way to joy, excitement, and anticipation of a real adventure.
The week that we spent in Disney World was the best week of our lives. We had so much fun meeting the princesses, and of course, Cinderella and Winnie the Pooh. Angela was so amazed that she was actually meeting her favourite characters that she has seen in books and on TV. Amazingly, it was easy to forget what Angela and our family had been through to have this dream granted. We were just having too much fun every moment of each day.
Angela’s dream come true has left our family with a happy ending to a very scary story. We are so grateful to The Rainbow Society and everyone involved with this wonderful organization. You made it possible for Angela’s dream to come true! No matter what happens now, we will have happy family memories that will last forever.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!"
 Carolina is a such a sweet and talented young lady and she was so gracious and excited when her dream to have her very own electric guitar came true! Here is a letter from Carolina:
"Cancer is harder for some people than it is for others, but that’s the point it’s still hard. I had thyroid cancer and I dealt with it in a very logical way. In my head it was ok that I had it, I just wanted it gone. Now that it's gone, still feel the side effects. That’s what gets me down about Cancer, that I won't be the same me.
I’m more forgetful, and I get these bouts of fatigue etc. and regardless if they seem like things someone can get adjusted to, it’s made a change in my life that I could live without. It's when these feelings are overwhelming that my guitar comes into play. Concentrating on it instead of the side effects has made life better, and which kid doesn’t want to be a rock star?
Thanks to all the people involved on giving me my sweet sounding distraction."
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