Thanks to a Variety Grant, Make-A-Wish Iowa now has five specialized travel car seats to have on hand for children with limited head, neck and trunk control, to use for their travel wishes. Children ages 2.5-6 years old who fit into the height and weight requirements of these seats will now be able to use them during their travel wishes, making it easier for families to safely travel and enjoy their wish trips! Wish kid, Judge, wanted to visit a Florida theme park for his wish. His family used one of the specialized travel car seats provided by a Variety Grant to help safely transport Judge. 

The seat was AMAZING! Not going to lie - with all the stuff and three kids, plus Judge’s medical items, we had to take so much. Also, Judge isn’t able to help with his items, so it was helpful that the seat was so small. The seat is lightweight and so easy to use and wow, the backpack for it was super handy! Highly, highly recommend!

Jocelyn, Judge's mom
Judge in his specialized car seat on the plane

Make-A-Wish Iowa works to create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Generally, wishes fall into four main categories:

I wish to go

I wish to be

I wish to have

I wish to meet

Any number of these four categories can be met with challenges from the planning stages due to a child’s critical illness or where they are in their treatment plan when they choose to have their wish. The Wish Specialist team at Make-A-Wish Iowa meets and discusses potential safety or health hazards wish each child’s medical team when planning each wish. This is especially important when planning a travel wish. Families traveling with a child who has a critical illness are often traveling with medical equipment, special food, medication and much more. Make-A-Wish Iowa works to make this as easy and seamless as possible.