It’s only 1 hour and 22 minutes to drive from Niagara Falls to Toronto. For many families, that’s an easy day trip or weekend getaway.
But for Jaydyn and his family, that trip to the big city requires two accessible taxis, costing $340 round trip, just to get to the train to Toronto. That’s a week’s worth of groceries spent before they even arrive!
For Jaydyn’s blended family of six, including two kids living with muscular dystrophy who require full-time care, and their step-mom, Amanda who lives with MS, traveling anywhere, ALL together, is not possible. In fact, Jaydyn’s family has NEVER traveled together.
Balancing the expenses of a big family in this challenging economy where medical supports must come first, a family getaway is a luxury Jaydyn’s family can’t prioritize. As heartbreaking as it is, creating special memories takes a back seat.
For the past decade, travel for Jaydyn’s family hasn’t been simple. The boys are no longer able to be lifted into a car or have their chairs fold down to transport. It means arranging accessible transportation, renting a hospital bed, Hoyer lift, and shower chair that would be delivered and set up in their hotel room, and planning for full-time care. All of this adds significant costs and layers of planning that most families never have to consider.
Once Shine coordinated the family’s travel to Toronto, Jaydyn’s Dream took him right onto the football field to watch the Argonauts practice for their Home Opener. He toured the stadium, talked with the players non-stop, and had the whole team sign his jersey and football. On game day, Jaydyn was treated like a true VIP, watching the warmup from the field before heading to a suite to celebrate.
Jaydyn’s Dream not only fulfilled his passion for football, but it also gave his family a ONCE in a lifetime experience that they would never have been able to do.
“They’ve watched us struggle their entire lives and for the first time ever, within reason, we didn’t have to say “no”. The entire week was magical. It was pure, genuine bliss,” Amanda describes. “It was amazing getting to see all four boys get to do things together and share the same excitement meeting the players. For one week, they weren’t caregivers, they were brothers.”
“1 week. 5 days. We were a family.”
“You gave our family a week to be a family and make memories we could never have afforded to make together,” Amanda shares.
You can give another family their touchdown moment: a priceless Dream come true, cherished memories, and time to connect.
