WATERLOO -- Jessica Carfrae always wanted to take her son, Drew, on a blowout family vacation.

Planning and financing a getaway, however, had proved challenging. Her 9-year-old was born with a rare medical muscle condition called arthrogryposis and uses a wheelchair.

"Arranging a flight that can accommodate his chair and finding an accessible hotel room is complicated and expensive," the Waterloo woman said. "It takes a lot to travel."

But on Sunday, Drew, Carfrae and her mother, Judy Gress, of Denison, will leave for a six-day visit to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. Magic Mix Kids will pick up the tab and has made arrangements for the family's special-needs son to travel in comfort. This is the ninth year the local nonprofit has organized a vacation for chronically and terminally Cedar Valley children and their families.

"Most of the families we work with can't take family vacations because they are either concerned about health issues, or they can't afford it because of all the money it takes to care for some of these kids," said Jim Coloff, trip director. "This gives them the ability to just relax, and enjoy being together."

Fourteen children and their families are participating in this year's tour. The trip, financed by community donations, costs roughly $80,000.

"Nobody looks forward to doing the fundraising," Coloff admitted. "But when you see the kids meet Mickey Mouse for the first time, it's all worth it."

Also going on the trip is Faith Magee, of Cedar Falls, and her family. The 5-year-old has battled leukemia for two years.

"It's hard to put a value on something like this," said Faith's father, Bill Magee. "When you have a sick kid, they have to spend so much time at home and in the hospital. They can't go out and do a lot of regular-kids things."

A local doctor and nurse travel with the tour. The Magic Mix Kids organization has shipped special foods to the resort to accommodate the diets of some of the young travelers. This year, the nonprofit is arranging dialysis for one child.

Having someone else handle the health headaches frees up families to have fun. For Drew Carfrae, that means visiting the Disney castle and scanning the theme park for "Finding Nemo" characters. He even hopes to board a few rides.

"I'm looking forward to all of it," said the fourth-grader. "I know I'm going to love all of it."

Contact Mary Stegmeir

at (319) 291-1482 or

mary.stegmeir@wcfcourier.com.