A little boy battling has his wish to visit his Grandpa in Alabama granted in time for Christmas with a few extra surprises.When asked to wish for anything in the world, many little kids just want a computer, a certain toy, a shopping spree or to visit Disney World. For 10-year-old Antonio, he just wanted to spend Christmas with his grandfather.Not only was his wish a little different than most, but Antonio’s situation differs from other kids as well. You see, Antonio has suffered from hemophilia type A since he was an infant. This is a severe blood disorder in which his blood is missing an important clotting factor and causes him to bruise easily. This disorder also causes pain and swelling associated with bleeding into his joints; even the smallest injury poses a potentially life-threatening problem with hemophilia A.For the first two years of his life, Antonio spent most of his time in the hospital because two-thirds of his blood simply did not work. For this, he endured two blood transfusions and continues to follow a strict daily medication regimen. Antonio is also limited in his level of activity.While talking to the mother of another child with hemophilia, Antonio’s mother, Cindy, listened to a story about a wish granted by Kids Wish Network, a charity dedicated to granting the wishes of kids and teens suffering from life-threatening illnesses like her little boy’s. She decided to give them a call.It was to Wish Coordinator Jennifer that Antonio entrusted his wish to spend Christmas with his grandfather in Alabama. Because of the distance and family troubles, little Antonio didn’t get to spend much time with his beloved grandfather in previous years.With the help of the American Legion Main South Post 341 and the Iron Workers Local 7 in Massachusetts, as well as some outstanding sponsors in Alabama, Jennifer set to work planning an itinerary complete with some fun activities for Antonio and his whole family to enjoy together during the wish trip. In addition to the flight, accommodations and dinners during the evenings, Jennifer also arranged for Antonio and his family to enjoy a trip to the DeSoto Caverns, a tour of the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory and even a jaunt to the McWane Science Center!For Antonio’s first experience “down south,” Antonio, his grandfather and the rest of their family visited the DeSoto Caverns, where they truly delighted in the magic they encountered in the underground world.Another fun family experience was the trip to the McWane Science Center, where Antonio said that his favorite parts were “going down the Winter Wonderland slide and seeing the IMAX movie AND the candy!”Finally, on their last day in Alabama, the family visited the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory together. According to Antonio, he loved “getting to actually go through the entire factory and see how they package and make the ice cream was cool; so was eating the yummy ice cream! It made me feel awesome!”Of course, despite all of the fun things that he experienced on his trip, the best part for Antonio was spending time with his whole family, especially his grandfather.
