Carter Piglowski donned mouse ears and smiled for a photo during his clinic appointment Thursday at Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. The 4-year-old battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia has a Make-A-Wish trip planned in October to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
(Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Child Life team members at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital wear Mickey Mouse ears to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation as they take part in a social media challenge sponsored by Disney. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Darla Watson and her daughter Emily wear Mickey ears. Emily is getting treatment for juvenile diabetes. Darla said she has a good memory of taking her son Nickolas on a Make-A-Wish trip before he died of cancer. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Dr. James Fahner, Clinical Manager Tammi Tyson and Dr. Jessica Foley wear the ears at the Hematology/Oncology Clinic. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Child Life music therapist Bridget Sova decorated her ears with musical notes. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Laura Van Haren, RN, left, and Candie Ritsema, RN wear the ears at the Hematology/Oncology Clinic on Thursday. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Di Sinsabaugh makes a funny face to go with her mouse ears. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Child Life team members, from left, Ashley Long, Cassie Schrock, Abby Coté, Ashley Diekema wear smiles as well as mouse ears, well, mostly mouse ears. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
John Parris, left, and Rich Dame wear the ears to help Make-A-Wish. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Wearing Mickey Mouse ears, Julia Holwerda, RN, is photographed with Carter and Mandy Piglowski. Planning the upcoming trip to Disney provides a welcome distraction from chemotherapy treatments, Mandy said. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
From left, Katie Kiel, RN, Christina DeVries, RN, Clinical Coordinator Kris Zimmer and Melissa Van Dyke of the Hematology/Oncology staff wear ears for the cause. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Child Life team members at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital wear Mickey Mouse ears to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation as they take part in a social media challenge sponsored by Disney. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
The diagnosis: A severe case of support for Make-A-Wish.
Disney Parks said it will donate $5 to the wish-granting organization for every mouse-ear photo posted online with the Share Your Ears campaign—up to $1 million.
Ellie Wilcox, director of leadership giving for Make-A-Wish Michigan, arrived at the hospital with a stockpile of mouse ears. Doctors, nurses and child life specialists posed for portraits.
Patients got in on the action, too.
Emily Watson, 13, took time from her treatment for juvenile arthritis to pose for a picture.
Her mom, Darla Watson, said she was happy to support the effort. She is grateful for a Make-A-Wish excursion that her son, Nickolas, took in 2000 to a Minnesota Vikings game. Nickolas, 8, died of cancer two months after his trip.
“It is a very good memory,” she said.
Carter Piglowski, a 4-year-old battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia, donned mouse ears and smiled for a photo with his mother.
Carter has a Make-A-Wish trip planned in October to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Planning the family vacation provides a welcome distraction from chemotherapy treatments, said his mom, Mandy Piglowski.
“It’s something to look forward to when he’s going through all this,” she said. “When he starts to get upset, we just start talking about Disney.”
Almost half of the kids who choose Make-A-Wish trips go to Disney, Wilcox said. Often, children ask to meet a Disney princess or fight a Jedi knight or do some other special activity while they are there.
The campaign has reached its $1 million mark, but Disney still encourages people to share their photos through March 14 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #shareyourears.