July 2025
by Derek Fink
Our family had the experience of a lifetime provided by Team Gleason in Maui, Hawaii!
Your team planned our amazing trip from staying at the beautiful Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort.
The grounds were breathtaking where we enjoyed the fresh seafood and fruit, relaxing by the beach and at the pools.
Team Gleason also planned our excursions which included zip lining, a round of golf at Wailea Golf Club, Luau, and snorkeling.
The zip lining and food were our family favorites.
On our zip line excursion, we saw so many native plants that were stunning.
We also enjoyed all the fresh fruit at every place we dined.
The only challenge we faced was nothing in anyone’s control and a first for us being from the Midwest!
While we were in Hawaii, there was a tsunami warning!
My family and I were all completely safe but seeing those warnings come up on your phone while the weather was beautiful and ocean appeared calm from the shore was surreal.
The evening of the warnings made supper challenging because everything was in lockdown and all guests had to stay on the resort. So, besides a long wait for supper, there were no other challenges.
The next day, the threat was gone and we all went about enjoying beautiful Hawaii!
Our Hawaii Adventure was an unforgettable experience. Being together with my family, seeing and doing things for the first time was priceless.
We made lots of memories together! The trip was fantastic to slow our racing minds just a year after diagnosis and the looming challenges to come with ALS.
We will forever be grateful to Team Gleason for this time and adventure as a family!
As you battle ALS, time becomes your most valuable commodity. The time together, away from the rush of our day to day schedules to enjoy each other’s company and focus on having fun and making memories will last forever.
With my ALS starting in my mouth, at the time of the trip my symptoms only affected my speech at the time.
Being with my family, they were able to communicate or I used my communication app on my phone. It was a blessing to have this time before my symptoms progressed.
My family and I will be forever grateful for the trip and awesome adventures we were able to share together.
The time we had was uplifting and a once in a life-time experience for us. We are so blessed that we had this time together.
THANK YOU for giving my family this gift of time!
