This was such a touching story (for me, at least, as the huge Figment fan), that I had to repost it here (with the original poster's permission, of course). It had me tearing up by the end. A longtime visitor to Figment's Imagination posted it on the forums over there.
Catherine said:My "Figment Story" relates entirely to my brother, Erik, and his battle with cancer. In 1986, he was diagnosed with a severe form of muscle cancer that appeared as a tumor on his left leg, above the ankle. Erik's doctor said that he was going to amputate below the knee, give him a year of chemo and "save his life." Someone had told my mother about the Make a Wish Foundation of Michigan, and talked with Erik (who was 5 at the time) about a trip. He wanted to meet Mickey Mouse as he'd never been to WDW before. So, in January 1987, Erik's wish was granted and our family flew to Florida.
By then, Erik was doing terrible. We really shouldn't have gone on the trip. He'd stopped eating, responding, talking or doing anything. But, my mother didn't know we could postpone the Make a Wish trip, so we went anyway. Though his Wish was to meet Mickey, our first stop on the trip was EPCOT. One of our first rides was at Journey Into Imagination that very cold January morning (it was like 30 degrees in Florida, no kidding).
When Figment popped out of the Dream Machine that very first time on the attraction, Erik started to laugh. We never knew what about Figment set him off, but once Erik started laughing, he started responding again to the world around him. On that trip, we met the Dreamfinder and Figment characters who walked around, and ended up befriending him both "onstage" and "behind the scenes" in that we made friends with the man who was Dreamfinder back then. We also met the great cast who worked behind the scenes in the Kodak Lounge, like Ginger (for whom my handle pays tribute). On the MAW trip, Erik started eating again, wanting scrambled eggs at the hotel. Mind you, he hadn't eaten willingly in weeks. From then on, after meeting Figment, Erik was resolved to fight.
Over a span of six years, we made 11 other trips to WDW to see Figment, as Erik's cancer would go into remission and then, sadly, come back (some of which due to a misdiagnosis). Each time, the whole point was to see Figment and Dreamfinder, as well as Ginger and the Lounge staff, so that Erik could "get his spark back" to fight. And each time, he did.
Erik did pass away in July 1992 when the cancer had overtaken too much of his body. However, at lectures in the years following, Erik's doctor said that he credited the magic of Disney and Figment to my brother's longevity; it was that spark that inspired him to keep going. Erik's cancer was so bad that, we're told, he shouldn't have lived as long as he did.
So, we owe an extra six years of having my brother in our lives to Dreamfinder, Figment, Journey into Imaginaton and Disney! That is why Figment has a super special place in our hearts.
