Terminally ill 9-year-old surprised with a trip to Disney World

By Joylyn Bukovac

Click here for updates on this story

    RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tennessee (WSMV) — A Rutherford County family was gifted a trip of a lifetime. They are going to Disney World, thanks to a non-profit called Baking Memories 4 Kids. The organization gives terminally ill children trips to the happiest place on earth.

Finn Switzer’s classmates, Rutherford County firefighters, and singer/ season 17 winner of “The Voice” Jake Hoot were at the Switzer family’s home when Baking Memories 4 Kids and The MCR Group surprised Finn and his family with a dream vacation to Orlando, Florida.

“We are going to put you guys on a big plane, take you down to Disney World, Sea World, Lego Land, Universal Studios for a whole week with mom and dad,” said Frank Squeo, Baking Memories 4 Kids Founder. “And you guys are going to go to the front of every line in every amusement park in Florida.”

After hearing about the vacation, the Switzer family was overcome with emotion.

“Mom was in tears, so joyful when we told her that we are going to give them this trip,” Squeo said. “So today is just a steppingstone to when they go on the trip which is going to be the most amazing week of their lives, and they are going to be able to watch their kids be kids.”

Jason Switzer, Finn’s dad, said “, They’ve given us something that’s well deserved for Finn he’s been through a lot as well as his older brother. Preston has accepted a lot of responsibility that most 14-year-old don’t have to deal with a 9-year-old brother.”

Finn has cerebral palsy and a chronic immune system disease. Finn’s mom, Holly, said if they weren’t gifted this trip, their family would never make it to Disney World.

“We save our money for Christmases and deductibles,” Holly said.

Holly continued, “We might be able to pay for the plane tickets. But when you have a family like ours, you don’t qualify for any assistance. So, you might be a middle-class family. But when you’re done paying for all the therapies and everything insurance doesn’t pay for, you’re in poverty.”

Holly and the rest of the Switzer family are thankful for the opportunity.

“So I’m really grateful that this is an opportunity that we can actually have a stress-free vacation because stress-free isn’t part of our lives really,” Holly said.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.