Left to right: Mike McKee, Harlynn McKee, Pyper McKee, Tatum McKee, and Shauna McKee. (Jaryn Vecchio/paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Wish Comes True

P.A. boy’s wish to visit Disney World with family comes true

Dec 6, 2022 | 5:15 PM

A five-year-old boy from Prince Albert will have his wish come true.

Tatum McKee was surprised at school on Tuesday by volunteers with the Make-a-Wish Foundation which is sending him and his family to Disney World.

Tatum was diagnosed with biliary atresia, which affected the ducts that carry bile from his liver to his gallbladder, when he was seven months old but, thanks to an organ transplant, is now living a much healthier life.

Shauna McKee, Tatum’s mom, told reporters her son really wanted to go to Disney World for one reason.

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“Tatum is obsessed with trains and his wish was to go somewhere where he could ride all the trains,” she said. “He had seen some pictures of trains at Disney World, and he had his mind set.”

The family will officially leave for their trip on Dec. 15, 2022, arriving back in time to host a Christmas celebration at their home.

While Shauna and her husband Mike have no real plans for themselves at Disney World, they both joked they’re excited to officially head out.

“I’m really excited to see my kids excited,” Shauna said.

While the trip is Tatum’s wish, it’s really something for the whole family. Shauna added Tatum’s sisters, Pyper and Harlynn, have been with him throughout the journey and also deserve a fun vacation.

“It affected me, my husband, and the girls,” she said. “Probably the hardest on (Pyper), who was three, almost four at the time of the transplant, who remembers and who got hauled out of her normal life to something very traumatic.”

Meanwhile, Tatum’s wish came true because of funding from the Optimist Club of Prince Albert.

Back in October, the club held its annual fall gala with all the proceeds going to Make-a-Wish Canada. They ended up raising around $75,000.

“It was the best one we’ve ever had; we were really surprised,” Vince Parker, the club’s treasurer, said.

According to Allyson Toye, chapter director for Make-A-Wish Canada, Saskatchewan Division, this funding will help make eight wishes for children in the P.A. area come true.

She noted all the wishes will most likely be granted by April of next year.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow