Christian Marlowe, 5, watches a video of his trip to Disneyland with his father, Alex; and mother, Lizette. His brother Anthony, 7, is in the background. World Photo by David Courtland

When Christian Marlowe's wish to meet Mickey Mouse granted, he not only got to visit Disneyland, he got to be Oregon's ambassador to the Magic Kingdom.

Two weeks ago, 5-year-old Christian was one of 75 ”wish kids“ who helped the Make-a-Wish Foundation celebrate its 25th anniversary at Disneyland.

In fact, Christian, who lives in Greenacres with his parents, Alex and Lizette; and his 7-year-old brother, Anthony, was the recipient of the 50,000th wish granted by the theme park.

”He had a great time. It'll be a memorable event in his life,“ said Alex Marlowe, who buys and renovates houses for resale.

During Disneyland's celebration of the anniversary, Christian got to meet Mickey, who showed him around his home and introduced him to Minnie Mouse.

He also got to ride in a parade with Aladdin and met Goofy and Donald Duck, all of it caught on film by his parents as well as Disneyland staff.

”It was just party after party every day,“ Lizette Marlowe said. ”His favorite part was the confetti. He had a lot of fun throwing confetti at the cameramen.“

The entire trip was paid for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Christian was diagnosed on Feb. 14 with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a variety of the disease that attacks boys at an early age.

Every six months, his parents take him to Portland for treatment at the Shriners Hospital, where he is examined by a geneticist and a team of medical researchers.

The Marlowes were referred to Make-a-Wish by Christian's aunt, who e-mailed the organization the family would be good potential candidates.

After being screened, the Marlowes met with two Make-a-Wish representatives, who asked Christian what wishes he might have.

”He said he'd like a big swing set,“ said Alex Marlowe, ”and he'd like to meet Mickey Mouse.“

”After the news of the diagnosis, we were pretty devastated,“ Alex Marlowe said ”Our faith is what gets us through. Because none of us knows what the future holds.“

Lizette Marlowe is certain of Christian's future, though.

”I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he can heal our son,“ she said. ”My son has a bright future, I believe in that.“