The force will be with him when 10-year-old Ethan Trethewey of Bridgewater goes for a week of Jedi training at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, U.S. with his family this month.
Ethan’s wish was celebrated on Sept. 28, at the Pizza Delight in Bridgewater with family, friends and Children’s Wish representatives, volunteers and sponsors.
For the Grade 5 student at Bridgewater Junior High School, The trip is Ethan’s most heartfelt wish and was granted by the Children’s Wish Foundation, Nova Scotia Chapter. Ethan, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was six, “loves Star Wars,” said mom Kari Tretheway. “He has since he was little.” Since finding out he would be going to the Jedi Training Academy, he has been “elated. He’s been on the countdown for probably six months.”
Kari said when Ethan was diagnosed, “the way we motivated him to do all the hard work he has to do is we promised him a trip when he was 10, so this is kind of the fruition for what he’s been doing for the last few years, said Kari. Ethan has to do intensive physio treatments twice a day and a regime of 40 plus pills he takes a day just to eat, drink and grow, and helps him not to experience belly pain and issues with his lungs.
The Tretheway family including dad Matthew, and sister Maria, leave for Florida on Oct. 14. “We’re so thankful to Children’s Wish and this opportunity to celebrate Ethan and the hard work that he does. Just to take some time off from the chaos of cystic fibrosis. Really, that’s it for him. He not only has to work on the medical, he has to try to keep physically active and that can be a chore on top of school and everything else. He gets to just be a kid for a week. It’s not something we would not be able to do without Children’s Wish,” said Kari.
Ethan’s Wish was celebrated on Sept. 28 at Pizza Delight in Bridgewater with family, friends and Children’s Wish representatives, volunteers and sponsors. Ethan is a Grade 5 Bridgewater Junior High School.
The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada is the largest and only all-Canadian wish-granting charity dedicated to granting wishes to Canadian children between the ages of three and 17 who are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. For more than 30 years, Children’s Wish has worked tirelessly to grant heartfelt wishes to more than 25,000 children and their families. In Nova Scotia, Children’s Wish has granted almost 1,200 wishes so far and have 90 wishes being worked on at this moment to be enjoyed.
Children’s Wish has chapter offices and professional staff in every province, and each wish family is assigned a dedicated wish co-ordinator who is able to personally and carefully structure each heartfelt wish experience to meet the particular needs of the child and their family. Travel wishes include all siblings 21 years and under living in the same household, and families travel worry-free thanks to exclusive Blue Cross insurance. Each wish granted is carefully structured to meet the particular needs of the child and their family.
Children’s Wish has recently expanded their reach, including children diagnosed with a serious neurological or genetic illness, meaning continued strong wish referral support through the medical community. Wish referrals continue to increase year after year, but a ‘no waiting list’ policy is maintained thanks to donors. Visit www.childrenswish.ca for more information and to donate.
