WISCONSIN — Wisconsin children battling cancer got to take an exclusive day trip up to the North Pole Saturday.
In its 39th year, “Flight to the North Pole” took 21 families across Wisconsin to see Santa, Mrs. Claus, the elves and the workshop.
They departed from Milwaukee through Signature Aviation. It’s a special tradition that dates back to 1985.
“We need to make sure these families have an excellent time,” said head elf Laura Golner.
She’s organized this event for about three decades.
“The requirement to be able to come today is not a great one,” she said.
Every family who participated has a child fighting cancer.
“We’re bringing them here to maybe distract them and let them forget for just a little while and have some fun,” said Golner.
The experience came with mixed emotions for these families, who attended for an unforgettable adventure, but under unfortunate circumstances.
“Someone came to us with this opportunity,” said Michelle Vogds.
She and her family got airfare to the North Pole because her eldest daughter, Layla, who is 4, was recently diagnosed with an aggressive type of blood cancer called B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL).
“We had a very intense month and a half, and now things are kind starting to slow down for us,” said Vogds.
Layla’s mom said things are looking up for her daughter. They found out she’s MRD-negative, which means there were no detectable traces of cancer cells.
“So, this kind of came at the perfect time, where we actually had a moment to kind of breathe and celebrate getting out of a very dark spot,” said Vogds.
That’s the exact purpose of the event — to serve as a magical distraction from all the chaos that comes with battling cancer.
“There’s limited things that we can do and this has been such an amazing opportunity for Layla and her sisters to be able to get out of the house,” said Vogds.
The mission has grown across the country, now offering attendees a chance to immerse themselves in the wonderland in more than 20 cities.
This year had the most volunteers, at about 160.
“Santa’s going to have to build a bigger hangar,” said Golner.
It takes a village, she said, to put on such a wonderful, memorable and magical experience for these families going through a tough time.
“And the North Pole village is a very good village,” she said.
If you would like to get involved next year, you can find out more about volunteering, here. If you’d like to financially support the Vogds family with Layla’s medical expenses, visit her GoFundMe.