Daniel Griffiths poses for a portrait Tuesday evening with Make-a-Wish representative Donna Serr.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
The local chapter of the Make-a-Wish Foundation was able to work its magic for the Griffiths family on Tuesday night, granting them a trip to Walt Disney World.
For 17-year-old Daniel Griffiths, the news of his cancer diagnosis came on incredibly quick last September.
“It was crazy,” said Corrina Griffiths, his mother. “We went to the doctors for tonsillitis, and within a week, we were flying out to the Children’s Hospital.”
Griffiths’ father Ian explained that what was previously thought to be swelling turned out to be a mass that didn’t respond to antibiotics, and was later taken for a biopsy in Calgary. This took a turn for the urgent however, less than a week later.
“He comes upstairs, just getting ready for school, and suddenly he can’t breathe,” said Ian. “So obviously I rushed him to the hospital. By that point, when we got to the hospital, the results from the biopsy had literally just come in as well. And obviously that’s when we were told that it was cancer.
Griffiths began chemotherapy the next day, and after surgery and a bone marrow transplant, he’s incredibly grateful to be able to say he has finished treatment and has been in remission for a significant period of time, making him well enough to be able to go on this trip that Make-a-Wish has been able to grant them.
“I wanted to do something for us as an entire family,” said Griffiths, who ensured he and his parents, alongside his two sisters Maxine and Samantha, would be able to all make the voyage together. “So we can grow closer, and just really enjoy our time together.”
The family expressed their gratitude to Make-a-Wish for helping them to see this dream realized, as well as the Calgary Children’s Hospital and the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital for helping them through Griffiths’ treatment.
Their flight leaves for this latest adventure on Nov. 18.
