Make-A-Wish Sending Girl to DisneyWorld

A brave little Fillmore girl’s wish to visit DisneyWorld will come true Sunday, even though her dream trip is potentially life-threatening.

Seven-year-old Maia Thayer, accompanied by her mother, father and grandmother, will board an airplane in Los Angeles for a five-day visit to the Central Florida resort courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Tri-Counties.

It is a rare trip to the world outside the protective walls of her home for the 42-inch-tall, 42-pound youngster who suffered irreversible kidney failure when she was just 4 months old because of a rare illness.

Maia received a kidney transplant four days after her first birthday, but the medications she takes to prevent her body from rejecting the organ have left her immune system so compromised that even ordinary childhood diseases are potentially fatal.

Consequently, Maia is unable to attend school. She rarely goes to stores. And Maia’s small group of neighborhood playmates are accustomed to being questioned by her mother, Karen Thayer, about their health.

“We’re taking a huge risk,” acknowledges Thayer. “There’s no way she’s going to come through this germ-free and feeling well . . . We pick and choose what Maia’s exposure is.”

As if fighting a daily battle for survival over kidney disease weren’t enough, Maia also suffers from a serious intestinal condition called pseudo-obstruction. The condition causes Maia debilitating pain and vomiting and means she can have no more than a few bites of such favorite foods as chocolate, pickles and El Pollo Loco chicken. Most of her nutritional requirements are met by a special predigested formula that is slowly pumped into her stomach for seven hours a day by a portable pump.

Even though Maia’s days are dominated by a strict regimen of dozens of medicines that she must take 14 times a day, she is determined to collect autographs of her beloved Disney characters.

She will wear a protective mask on the aircraft, but will take it off at DisneyWorld in an effort to have a vacation unencumbered by health concerns.

“She doesn’t act like she’s sick, she enjoys life as much as she can,” her mother said.

Maia and her family will stay at “Give Kids The World Village,” a 35-acre resort for children with life-threatening illnesses.

Even though Maia will be exposed to thousands of children and may become sick while fulfilling her wish, her parents believe their daughter’s quality of life is as important as its quantity.

“With Maia, we live day to day and week to week,” her mother said. “We’re very blown away by this whole Make-A-Wish thing. It’s kind of like an island in a sea of awfulness. We’re going to be doing something we could never do under normal circumstances with Maia.”