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4-year-old enjoys dream trip to Disney

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Parents Rafael Gomez, left, and Keila Cintron, right, don their matching Make-A-Wish T-shirts with their son, Aiden, in front of Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

LEWISTOWN — With the help of Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia, 4-year-old Aiden Gomez, of Lewistown, recently received the gift of a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the place where dreams come true, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Aiden, who is diagnosed with a gastrointestinal disorder, was born unable to swallow. As a result, he and his parents, Keila Cintron and Rafael Gomez, have dedicated numerous hours to hospital visits to care for his condition.

“When I was pregnant, he wasn’t swallowing amniotic fluid like babies usually do,” Cintron said. “As soon as he was born, they had to put a tube down his throat.”

At only 2 months old, Aiden needed to have both a gastrostomy tube and a tracheostomy tube put in to assist with feeding and breathing.

“The doctors said he had a soft tissue in the back of his throat,” Gomez said. “They explained that when he was 2 or 3, that would break, allowing him to swallow.”

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From left, Rafael Gomez, Keila Cintron and Greta Stimely pose with Aiden, center, as he meets one of his favorite characters, Mickey Mouse, at Epcot Center.

Recently, Aiden has been learning to eat by mouth and can eat some soft foods, like baby food and ice cream, and drink a variety of beverages.

Aiden is also getting therapy to help with pronunciation, since his jaw is set in such a way that his teeth don’t fully close, making letters like m’s and p’s difficult to pronounce.

“He’s trying and making a lot of progress,” Gomez said. “The therapy is helping a lot. Aside from the G-tube and trach, he’s just like any other kid.”

Upon the recommendation of other moms in the Moms of Trach Babies Facebook group, Cintron submitted a wish referral to Make-A-Wish in October 2016.

“I thought I would reach out and see how they reacted to him getting a trip,” Cintron said. “I listed all of his conditions to Make-A-Wish and they approved it. Since he doesn’t look like he has any life-threatening conditions, I wasn’t expecting it. I was really surprised when they wrote me.”

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Four-year-old Aiden Gomez, of Lewistown, flies into the night sky with ET at Universal Studios.

With Aiden’s love of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” and the Minions, Aiden’s parents wanted him to have that one-time opportunity to go to Disney World and have a fun time getting to see all of the different characters he loves.

“We don’t know what the future might hold as of yet,” Cintron said. “I mean, hopefully everything is good to go from here, but we wanted him to have this experience.”

Originally scheduled from Jan. 15 to Jan. 21, the family’s trip to Disney was rescheduled after Aiden fell sick with the respiratory syncytial virus, which affects the upper respiratory system, three days before their departure.

“He gets this virus, I would say, once every two months,” Gomez said. “Sometimes it takes a bit longer, but when he gets it, it makes him really, really weak. Most of the time, he has to go to Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville and stay there. The time before last, he had to spend a whole week there.”

Cintron said most children who contract RSV experience common cold symptoms but, due to his immune system, the virus hits Aiden harder, sometimes causing him to get pneumonia and apnea spells.

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Submitted photo Four-year-old Aiden Gomez, of Lewistown, flashes a smile with Mayor Clayton at Give Kids the World Village at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

“We’ve been through a couple of scares, but luckily he pulled though,” Gomez said. “He’s a strong kid.”

On Jan. 28, with Aiden feeling better and the trip fully rescheduled, the family headed to Walt Disney World where they would stay for a week at Give Kids the World Village, a resort designed for sick children and their families.

While in Orlando, the family, along with Aiden’s nurse, Greta Stimely, of Bayada Home Health Care, visited Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and non-Disney parks like Universal Studios and SeaWorld.

“It was a lot of walking,” Gomez said. “We woke up at 7 a.m. every day, got to the parks around 10:30 a.m. and stayed until closing. It was crazy, but it was good. We visited all of the parks. He was a trooper. “

One of the biggest attractions for Aiden during the trip was music. From meeting the Blues Brothers at Universal Studios to watching short films at Magic Kingdom, Aiden could be seen dancing all around the parks.

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“In Animal Kingdom, there were these African people playing music and Aiden just stayed until they stopped,” Gomez said. “He didn’t want to leave. He loved the music.”

Cintron said Aiden also loved visiting SeaWorld, where he ate with Shamu, went on a backstage tour and even got to feed a penguin.

At Universal Studios, Aiden enjoyed meeting one of his favorite Minions, Bob, and riding on Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem.

Aiden also met and took pictures with other characters during his stay, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Daisy and Stitch, all of whom he greeted with big hugs and kisses.

“I was shocked with the way he reacted to them,” Gomez said. “It was nice to see he was excited about it and not afraid. Whenever he’d meet a character, they’d see his Make-A-Wish button and stop what they were doing to come take a picture with him. They treated him like a king.”

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However, Cintron added that while Aiden loved the characters in full costume, he did not react well to the more human-like characters, such as Mary Poppins and Snow White.

“Before the trip, I showed him videos of the Fantasy Parade at Disney, with princesses and other characters, and he liked that,” Cintron said. “But as soon as he saw them in person, he totally freaked out.”

At Give Kids the World Village, Aiden participated in the weekly Halloween celebration as well as the Christmas party, where he got his picture taken with Santa Claus. He also attended a pirate party and a surprise birthday party for Mayor Clayton, the rabbit who oversees the village.

“He loved it,” Cintron said. “The village was really nice. They treated us really amazingly. If he didn’t want to go to the parks, there was so much to do there every day. He loved riding the Enchanted Carousel.”

Also in the village, Aiden was a part of a gold star ceremony. During the ceremony, Aiden placed a star with his name on it in a box for the Star Fairy, Stella, who added it to the other stars on the ceiling of the Castle of Miracles.

Make-A-Wish covered all of the costs for the trip and provided the family with $1,082 to use toward expenses and parking fees while at Disney.

They also provided rental equipment for Aiden, including a humidifier, feeding machine, oxygen concentrator and suction machine, all of which were set up in the family’s village house upon arrival.

“For families like ours, I would really recommend Make-A-Wish,” Cintron said. “I mean, they did everything. They were so helpful with me and with all of my questions. It was amazing.”

Make-A-Wish is a non-profit organization that grants wishes to children, ages 2 1/2 to 18 years, with life-threatening medical conditions, according to a press release issued by Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Those who have unused frequent flier miles from Delta or United are encouraged to donate their miles to Make-A-Wish through the Wishes in Flight program to help provide free flights to sick children and their families, the release states.

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