BRIDGEPORT — Spending three days at Disney World, one day at SeaWorld and one day at Universal Orlando is a dream come true for Paiverly Ricker, a 2-year-old girl from Wheeling who is battling cancer.
On August 1, 2023, Ricker and her family received the news that she had been diagnosed with a blood cancer called acute lymphocytic leukemia. Since then, Ricker’s parents Tommy and Jessica Ricker have accompanied her on various visits and stays in the hospital.
An Ohio Valley Chapter of the Special Wish Foundation held a wish reveal Thursday night at The Fat Apple in Bridgeport and granted Paiverly a wish. She will receive a three-day trip to Disney World, one day to SeaWorld and one day to Universal Orlando in Florida. This trip includes a private villa for the family instead of a hotel stay.
Jessica said that this wish granted to Paiverly is a way for the family to get back to normality and for her to have a normal life as a child. She emphasized how much Paiverly is looking forward to this journey.
“She could actually be a normal child,” Jessica said: “and to get out and see their favorite character and Disney. Disney is every kid’s dream at some point, so it’s just going to be a fun time to go there with our family and experience that.”
Annmarie O’Grady, executive director of A Special Wish Ohio Valley Chapter, said granting wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses between birth and age 21 is important to her because it brings them hope and happiness.
“They go through so much,” she said. “Their lives are made up of hospital stays, visits, tests, chemotherapy and radiation. We want to give them something that brings them hope and joy, whether it’s a week-long trip or anything… something they can have and remember. That’s all we want to do.”
“The Special Wish Foundation is the only major wish-granting organization in the United States that grants wishes to infants, children and adolescents from birth to age 21,” according to its website. The Ohio Valley chapter is based in St. Clairsville and serves upstate Ohio and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.
Tommy and Jessica came up with the idea for a Disney trip for Paiverly after Jessica’s brother brought home a Disney castle and Paiverly played with it and knew the characters. They asked her: “Would you like to visit Mickey and his castle?”
O’Grady mentioned that when the Ricker family visited the office, Paiverly saw pictures of other dream children at Disney and kept saying: “I want to go home to Mickey.”
Jesscia said Paiverly will be excited about the trip, just as she was when she opened the Mickey Mouse-themed backpack she was given at the unveiling. Tommy added that it will give her memories during a difficult time.
“She is a very emotional child,” Said Jessica. “She hugged it and said, ‘I love it.’ She’s just very grateful for everything at such a young age.”
