Dream Factory of SEMO sends terminally-ill Altenburg girl to Disney World

A terminally-ill child named Calleigh had her dream of going to Disney World granted by the Dream Factory of Southeast Missouri last week.

Dream Factory — an all-volunteer-driven wish-granting organization — held a sendoff event Jan. 1 at Calleigh’s home in Altenburg, Missouri, featuring a small drive-by parade, including famous Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

The organization has a yearly goal of granting three dreams, each costing an average of $5,000.

On Jan. 10, 2020, doctors discovered a baseball-sized tumor in 3-year-old Calleigh’s brain. She underwent surgery to remove the tumor three days later, but was subsequently diagnosed with embryonal tumor and multilayer rosettes (ETMR), a rare type of pediatric brain cancer. Following her diagnosis, Calleigh was given a 50% chance to survive one year, and a 10% chance of surviving three.

Anyone interested in assisting with granting a dream to a child in the Southeast Missouri region, Dream Factory’s communications officer Justin Winkler recommends following the organization’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dreamfactoryincsemo, and watching for fundraising events and donation opportunities.