Make-A-Wish Grants 7,000th Wish To Girl Heading To Disney World
BOSTON (CBS)- A 3-year-old girl and her family are on the way to Disney World after a magical sendoff at Logan Airport Friday.
Alisha Savage, her sister and parents are the 7,000th wish recipients from Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Alisha's wish, inspired by her love for princesses, kicked off the trip to Orlando, Florida with an early morning escort from the Quincy Police to Terminal B, where a crowd of hundreds of people greeted her.
"We didn't expect it but we are just in awe of this," Alisha's mother Michelle Savage said.
The family is originally from Cork, Ireland, but transplanted to Boston in January for treatment of Alisha's stage IV atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT), a rare childhood cancer consisting of aggressive tumors in the central nervous system, including the brain and spine.
Michelle and her husband John lost a child 15 years ago when Alisha's older brother Christopher was still born.
"It's been a long road and they so deserve this," said Charlotte Beattie, Chief Executive Officer of Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The non-profit partnered with American Airlines and the Something mAAgic Foundation to not only fund the week-long trip, but also create a fairy tale castle at the departure gate.
The castle was adorned with Alisha's name, balloons, and a stone-carpet which served as the gateway to a jet with a specially decorated seat for her. Along the way, Alisha met many princesses including Snow White, Cinderella, Tinker Bell and Elsa.
"We're very grateful to an incredible community of supporters who are with us every step of the way, since 1987, in helping to grant wishes to these courageous children and their incredible families," said Beattie.
The Savage family has more treatment ahead, but for at least the next seven days, it can all be a fairy tale.
"We take it week-by-week. It's mainly based on Alisha and how she's progressing with her treatment," said her father John Savage.
"She's up for the battle."
To learn more about Alisha, visit www.alifeforalisha.com.
For more on Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island, visit www.massri.wish.org.
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