Wishes In Flight Telethon Airs Next Thursday On KHQ To Help Chil - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Wishes In Flight Telethon Airs Next Thursday On KHQ To Help Children With Potentially Life Threatening Illnesses

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by Alex Rozier, KHQ Local News Reporter - bio | email

CHATTAROY, Wash. - There really is nothing about the last two years of Ryleigh's life that has been ordinary. She turned 13 this year, but when she was 11 she was diagnosed with a rare muscle disease called dermatomyositis that breaks down muscle, tissue and skin and left her with awful arthritis. She spent many months in the hospital trying to figure out what was wrong, but it wasn't until she met with a doctor in Seattle that they got their answer.

"We walked in, quite literally walked in the doctor's office, she looked at her cuticles and the doctor said you have dermatomyositis, my friend," Ryleigh's mom Julie said.  

So for months she went through treatment and unfortunately missed most of 5th grade because of the appointments. Because of the strong battle she fought she was able to make a wish through the "Make A Wish" foundation and thankfully it was granted. She got to go to Disney World for a whole week with her family. But this vacation was a whole lot more than a normal trip to the Magic Kingdom because all of the Disney darlings brought her to the front of every line and sent her more prizes than she knew what to do with.

"Even if we left for like five minutes we'd come back and there'd be something there," Ryleigh said.

"It took a while coming home because it wasn't just, ‘yes, Princess Ryleigh, you can have everything," Ryleigh's mom Julie said. "The trip was nice because it gave her something good to focus on and that is what she said, ‘something good came out of me being sick."

Next Thursday, January 24th, KHQ will be working with the "Make A Wish" foundation to ensure more kids are able to get their wish granted. All you have to do is call into our Connect Center between 5:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. (next Thursday) and donate your unused airline miles. All of those miles will go toward granting more wishes for children who are fighting difficult, sometimes life-threatening illnesses.