On this day in 1993, Canberra rallied to provide John, a four-year-old boy with AIDS, an unforgettable adventure to the United States. John contracted the illness from either before his birth or shortly after and lost his mother to it earlier in the year.
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The Canberra Times told his story in January, which led to an outpouring of support. A special fund was created to fulfil his dream of riding on a big plane and meeting his favourite animated characters leading to a trip to Disneyland.
His foster parents, Pat and Peter, prepared to get him there. Pat said: "He's been counting off the sleeps for weeks. We are all really excited."
She said the trip had given him a lot to look forward to and kept him motivated.
Among the preparation, Pat and Peter had to obtain special clearance from the US government to allow John to enter the country, inform US customs of the medication that would be brought with them and getting the airline to prepare special food as John's diet was heavily controlled.
John's doctors were happy his symptoms had steadied and gave their blessing for the trip.
The Disneyland adventure was funded by the public donations to the AIDS Action Council Disney Fund, with assistance from Qantas and the Canberra Theatre Centre. Funtastic Travel helped to arrange it.
The Lions Club provided financial backing to the family, and arranged for a US 'Lion' to meet and take care of the family throughout their stay in the US. The ACT Fire Brigade gave John "Mr Jones", a trauma bear, when he visited the Kambah fire station to ride the fire truck and held one of the water hoses.
