Off We Go, Into the Wild Blue Yonder

The Disney Dream Cruise Ship. Photo courtesy of Disney.

All this planning and waiting and waiting and planning and it’s finally HERE! We are packing the last of our bags and then we are off to our very first Disney Cruise, just us three — Don, me, and Theo. It is fitting that the ship’s name is the Disney Dream, because being able to sail aboard it is a dream come true for all of us.

We began planning this get-away back in October. Even then, two months before we found the cancer had spread to my bones and I broke my pelvis, I had the wherewithall to purchase trip insurance that would reimburse us 100 percent should I not be able to board the boat. I’m glad we had that to lean on, because in the days following last week’s radiation, I really wondered if I could make the trip. Last weekend is a fog, and Monday and Tuesday were only slightly better. Last night, just before bed, long after Theo had fallen asleep, Don said to me, “You know, if this trip is too much for you right now, we can cancel. It’s OK honey. We can do it another time.”

Thank God today I woke up feeling sooooooooooo much better than I have in a very long time. I am blessed and very grateful. My sister Julie, who knew I was really struggling yesterday, said she woke up at 4 a.m. and prayed and prayed that I’d be OK. God heard and answered her prayers.

We are off to the Disney Dream, which is the newest in the fleet of Disney Cruise Ships. Our room has a balcony and I envision myself sitting out on it, soaking up some much needed Vitamin D, reading a great book. The second night’s theme is Pirates of the Carribean and Disney lights off a fireworks display over the water. The ship has lots of firsts — including a water roller coaster with a clear tube that shoots out over the water and back. I won’t be doing that one, as I’m sure it’s not safe for my body right now, but I’ll sure enjoy watching Don and Theo!

We are off to Nassau, Bahamas, and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. We will learn about the Stingrays and have an opportunity to pet the dolphins. The kids’ club aboard is absolutely amazing — a total wonderland of everything Disney. And Don and I are looking forward to lots of sunning and sitting, repeat.

After 11 months of hard-core IV chemo, including an experimental agent, and now, radiation and oral chemotherapy for the past two months, it’s time for Don, Theo and I to get away from it all and enjoy lots of fun in the sun together. So, that’s what we’ll be doing for the next several days.

I will be taking lots of pictures and I’ll return to blogging when we get back. For now, though, it’s Bon Voyage as we head for sea, sun and sand.

Copyright 2012, Amy Rauch Neilson

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