McKenna May, a girl from Ohio who has spent most of her life fighting cancer, is enjoying the vacation of her dreams.
After their father refused to sign a Make-a-Wish consent form last month, family members raised money on their own to pay for the trip.
“It’s really exciting,” said McKenna’s mother, Whitney Hughes. Fox News Orlando. “It’s also kind of a shock factor.”
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McKenna was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010.
Last month, William May, the girl’s father, opposed the Disney trip. He said the holidays should go to terminally ill children.
“I’m not saying I haven’t been through a lot,” he told Fox. “But maybe I should get a swing or something.”
Battling illness: McKenna May’s father refused to sign a Make-a-Wish consent form that would send his girl to Disney World after battling leukemia.
The Make-a-Wish Foundation initially awarded the girl, who lives in Haskins, Ohio, $3,500 (£2,235) to fund the holiday.
It is the policy of the Make-a-Wish Foundation to require two parental signatures to avoid family problems or custody battles.
Mark Hiegel, the foundation’s national communications director, told Fox that he had never heard of a case in which a parent denied a vacation because a child was “too healthy.”
To raise the necessary funds, two of McKenna’s nephews sold popsicles. Another child sold $500 worth of chocolate bars to help pay for a vacation.
Wish granted: McKenna May will meet Mickey Mouse and eat a lot of ice cream during her visit to Disney
Jamie’s Dream Team, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that helps those suffering from disabilities, serious illnesses or trauma, is sponsoring McKenna’s trip.
“I had faith it (would happen),” Hughes said. “But I didn’t think it would happen so quickly.”