Making dreams come true

[Guest guest]

Making dreams come true

Terry and JoAnn spend their free time helping sick children

by Lacey Storer

http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2008/jun/29/making-dreams-come-true/

Next month, 6-year-old Masan Payne will take his first trip to Disney

World. He'll get a limo ride to the airport, be able to head to the

front of the lines and ride all the rides.

For Masan, who suffers from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a disease

that causes nerve degeneration and muscle weakness in the

extremities, it will be the trip of a lifetime, a rare chance to just

be a kid. For his mom, April, it's an opportunity for her family,

which also includes husband Walter and sons Tavan and Prestan, to get

away from the pressures of living with Masan's disease.

" It's one week with no doctor's visits, no stress, " she says. " It's

just amazing. "

The all-expense paid trip comes with the help of the Dream Factory

and the hard work of volunteers Terry and JoAnn . For more than

four years, the couple has been donating their time, and sometimes

money, to making dreams come true for critically and chronically ill

children.

" You just don't realize how many kids are sick, " Mrs. says.

The s, who have volunteered with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and

the Noyes Home, have always had a soft spot for children with

illnesses, Mr. says.

" I just felt fortunate that my kids were all healthy, " he says.

Since they started volunteering with the Dream Factory, the couple —

who hadn't heard of the Dream Factory before they began volunteering —

has helped makes the dreams of five children come true.

Children are referred to the Dream Factory by doctors, nurses,

teachers, family and friends. Once a child is approved for the

program, he or she is assigned to a volunteer, or two in the case of

the s. The s spend their time arranging for the families

to have airline tickets, limo rides to and from the airport, rental

cars, spending money — all at no cost to the family and coming mostly

from donations from local companies and individuals.

" We're not shy about asking for free stuff, " Mrs. says.

Mr. hands out his Dream Factory volunteer business cards, with

his home phone number on them, everywhere he goes. He's always hoping

to make contacts with businesses, organizations or individuals who

would be willing to help the Dream Factory.

It takes about two or three months for the s to get the

arrangements together and make the child's dream come true. Once the

child has received his or her dream, the s' work is done, until

the next child comes along. However, the bonds they've forged with

their children last past the planning and the trips.

Throughout the planning process, the s become extremely close

to their children, " closer then we should, I think, " Mrs. says.

" It's hard not to, " Mr. adds.

They've attended the graduations and birthday parties of their Dream

Factory kids, and a few of the children were surprise guests at the

s' 40th wedding anniversary. The children call and keep the

s updated on what's going on in their lives.

" We not only send a child on a dream and that's it, " Mr.

says. " We're with them forever. "

Also with them forever is the sincere gratitude the families show the

s for what they've done.

" We get so many thanks, " says Mrs. . " They just want to do

something for you too. "

But for the s, " the joy of seeing their faces, " says Mrs.

, is thanks enough. It is enough to be able to help the

children, like Masan, and their families to forget about their

illnesses, if even just for a little while.

" We've never had a vacation ever, we've never really went anywhere, "

says April Payne, " so this will be amazing. "