By Erin J. Murrin
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
Throughout his life, David Baxter of Marietta has
been unable to escape the affect of cystic fibrosis. Not because
he is suffering from the disease, though. Baxter’s brother
died from the disease at age 3. Fast forward many years and Baxter
and his wife, Cherie, have not only one child with CF, but two. “We
are one of two families in the state of Georgia that have two children
with CF,” he said.
His two youngest daughters, Madison, 7, and Autumn, 5, receive
breathing treatments twice every day and make frequent hospital
visits which put a strain on the young parents, who also have a
10-year-old daughter, Ashley. Baxter, who is a contractor for BellSouth,
works while his wife works toward a nursing degree from Kennesaw
State University. They perform all of their duties using one car. “I’m
32 years old and I have more grey hair than my mom,” Baxter
said. “We’ve struggled for the last 10 years trying
to make a better life for ourselves.”
Those stressors, obligations and worries, however, were washed
away last weekend when Baxter and his family received the gift
of a lifetime. They were chosen for a free trip to Walt Disney
World compliments of Bert’s Big Adventure, a nonprofit organization
through Atlanta radio station Q100 that takes chronically and terminally
ill children and their families to the Magic Kingdom. Before their
trip, Madison and Autumn shared what they were looking forward
to the most. “(I want to see) Mickey and Minnie Mouse and
all the princesses,” she said. “I want to give them
all a hug.” Madison, although she was also looking forward
to meeting the princesses, had a more daring plan to execute. “I
want to ride all the really scary (rides),” she said.
Nominated for the trip by nurses at Children’s Health Care
of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, the Baxter’s departed Feb. 22
with a grand bon voyage celebration at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. “That
was cool because the Braves dancers and Falcons cheerleaders showed
up,” Baxter said.
After the 14 children and their families arrived in Florida, the
real fun began. Baxter said every fantasy or wish the girls had
was more than fulfilled during their stay at Disney World. Between
meeting all the Disney characters, riding all the rides and taking
a private safari of the animal kingdom, the Baxter family barely
found time to sleep. But Baxter admits the sleep deprivation was
much more fun and stress-free than the kind they face a home when
his wife has to get up at 4:30 a.m. to administer breathing treatments.
“They had surprises all around the corner,” Baxter
said. “The Disney people really took care of us. We got private
time with the princesses. It was just the dream of a lifetime.” Jenn
Fallin, coordinator for Bert’s Big Adventure and former Bert
Show employee was smitten with the Baxter girls. “(Autumn)
has the coolest personality of any kid I’ve ever met,” she
said. “She wore the adults down. Madison is the opposite
of Autumn. She’s very quiet and reserved and she takes care
of the other sisters.” Fallin said it was wonderful seeing
the girls bond with the other children. “To be able to find
other kids around them…who can understand was special,” she
said. “These families were able to make strong relationships.”
Even though Madison’s time was cut short by falling ill – she
is currently still in the hospital for treatment – Fallin
said Madison made the best of every moment. “She was pretty
much sick the whole weekend but she didn’t complain at all,” she
said. “This girl is such a positive spirit. …”
Fallin said the Baxter girls seemed the most attracted to the
rides at Disney World. “They wanted to try every ride,” she
said. “They went on the Test Track (ride) which gets up to
60 miles per hour. They wanted to go on it again and again. They
are just little daredevils.”
Baxter said his family conserved money while eating so they could
spend more money buying things for the girls. But really, they
wanted for virtually nothing. “I couldn’t believe how
much stuff the Bert Show bought the girls,” he said. “That’s
what touched me the most, the stuff I couldn’t buy for them,
(the girls) would get from Bert. When we got back, we had two boxes
of stuff for them.” The family also received a $500 Kroger
gift card, $200 in cash and a $100 American Express card, which
Baxter said helps his family more than The Bert Show members possibly
know.
Baxter knows that many medical advancements have been made since
his brother died of CF. But he acknowledges that his girls still
have a limited life expectancy. (The life expectancy for someone
with CF is about 30.) During the Disney World trip, he captured
as many moments as he could on his camera. “I took 600 pictures,” he
said. “I did that on purpose because Madison has always been
in bad shape and I want to do everything I can to remember her
for the rest of my life. I got those pictures because (that trip)
is something I’ll never have again.” If he ever has
the chance to take his family back to Disney World, he plans to
simply to see his daughter’s dreams come true again. But
it will be hard to beat the trip with Bert’s Big Adventure. “No
amount of money in the world could give you the experience they
had, not even if you are rich,” he said. “The song
really sums it up, ‘It’s a whole new world.’”
(This article originally appeared in the Marietta
Daily Journal on 2/25/2007) |
