A Whitehorse boy is heading to Florida’s Walt Disney World in March for free.
All Finn Beaulieu had to do was make a wish.
The 12-year-old has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a degenerative disease that will see him grow weaker and weaker.
Finn is in a wheelchair, as is his 15-year-old brother Ross, who also has muscular dystrophy.
Some boys show symptoms in infancy but it’s usually around age six that the muscle degeneration becomes obvious.
“When they were younger, they walked and ran like regular children,” said their father Steve, in a recent interview with the News. “But it’s progressive.”
As they get older, both Ross and Finn will only become weaker and weaker.
In 2005, Ross had a wish: he wanted to see the sea turtles in Costa Rica.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of British Columbia and Yukon stepped in to make it happen. The foundation grants wishes to children ages three to 17 who have a life-threatening medical condition.
Taking a page from his older brother’s book, this year Finn went to the foundation with his wish to travel to Walt Disney World and it said yes to his request.
On the March trip, Finn will also be visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Winter the dolphin.
“It’s been a long time since we granted a wish for a child in the Yukon. We’d like to do more,” said Make-A-Wish foundation executive director Ross Hetherington in a release.
A fundraiser was held for the Beaulieus earlier this month in Whitehorse to help the family buy an SUV equipped with a wheelchair ramp. The Beaulieus have been using a jerry-rigged wheelchair ramp on the side of the family’s minivan.
This summer, if the family manages to purchase the new SUV, it hopes to do a family road trip through Alaska.
Contact Genesee Keevil at gkeevil@yukon-news.com.