Feb04VillageNews

In 1989, Give Kids The World (GKTW) welcomed Wish Child Brianne Schwantes and her family to the Village for the trip of a lifetime. Since then, Brianne has treasured this experience and has enjoyed a successful and exciting journey. She has now returned to GKTW for a one-year stay as a coordinator in the communications department. The following is an account of Brianne’s life in her own words.

Hi, my name is Brianne Schwantes. I am currently a 23-year-old college graduate who was born with the rare bone disease Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), also known as Brittle Bone Disease. Living each day leaves me with enough thrills and excitement to equal an eternity of riding the fastest coasters. For me, the simple act of negotiating a staircase, let alone maneuvering in a pair of high-heeled shoes, probably equals the adrenaline rush of visits to Six Flags Great America and Cedar Point combined!

When I was born in 1981 in South Milwaukee, Wis., I already had 13 broken bones, and my family was told that I would not live through my very first day. Thankfully, I survived. Soon after, my parents met a group of dedicated doctors at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) who were studying this rare disease. For one week every three months, my parents and I would make the trip to Washington, D.C., to see a battery of doctors, from orthopedic surgeons to audiologists.

Serving as a cutting-edge research hospital, NIH tried several new techniques for dealing with OI, and finally, all of the doctors’ hard work paid off. Today, I am exploring the world as an adult. Just recently, I rented my first apartment in a new city far away from home. However, it was never an easy road to get here.

While I was growing up, my family and I spent far too many Christmases in the hospital and too many summers with me in a plaster cast rather than at the beach. When I was eight years old, I was going through a particularly rough time with weekly trips to the hospital and a great deal of bad-tasting medicine. My parents had just enough money to make ends meet, but never enough to take the family on a vacation.

Then we heard about this new place called Give Kids The World Village in Central Florida. My mom and dad made a few phone calls and before we knew it, we were being whisked away to the airport for a magical vacation.

Imagine for just a minute that you are a sick eight-year-old. Your entire world revolves around medicine and physical therapy sessions, and you know that your next trip to the hospital is right around the corner. Then, imagine being told that for just one week you and your whole family will travel to Florida, to a place where a giant six-foot rabbit will tuck you in at night, where Christmas comes every Thursday, and where you are encouraged, if not expected, to have a big bowl of ice cream for breakfast.

I have now returned to GKTW Village as a staff member instead of as a Wish Child, and I am able to see the Village from a brand-new perspective. I cannot put into words how much the Village treatment means to the families served each and every day. After all, children who visit GKTW spend the majority of their lives in a hospital, and now they find themselves in an environment where all they are expected to do is to simply have fun!

When I attended the IAAPA convention in November, I was immediately overwhelmed by how much your industry cares for Give Kids The World. Everyone knew about the Village and truly wanted to help.

From a Wish Child, and now a member of the GKTW organization, thank you for your constant dedication and for helping to make Give Kids The World Village the wonderful place it is today.