Vivienne’s Christmas wish comes true
It’s been two years since little Vivienne lay under a blanket as her mother Marie Harlick lay dying.
Not once, since that day, had she asked for anything until her aunt asked what she wanted for Christmas.
The answer, a trampoline. Stuff shared Vivienne’s story last month and the community rallied with New Zealand trampoline company Jumpflex, who are based in Hamilton, deciding to grant her Christmas wish.
Vivienne’s guardian and aunt, also called Marie Harlick, almost cried when her niece asked for a trampoline for Christmas.
It was the first thing Vivienne had ever asked for in the two years following the death of her mother and Harlick’s sister.
‘‘I almost cried, she’s never asked for anything,’’ Harlick said. ‘‘Not once, not a single thing.’’
Harlick became guardian for her three-year-old niece in 2016, after her sister was killed by her former partner Robert Roupere Hohua. Vivienne, 18-months old at the time, was left beside her mother as she lay dying, hidden under a blanket.
Guardianship of her sister’s five children was divided up between family members. Harlick took over guardianship of Vivienne, the youngest of the bunch, moving her to Pukekohe.
After hearing about Vivienne, Jumpflex owner Stephen Tubbs said it instantly tugged at his heart strings.
‘‘What an amazing job you’ve done with Vivienne,’’ he said to Harlick.
‘‘And what an amazing girl Vivienne is. It’s part of our motto to get kids to play outside and enjoy life – so we couldn’t turn it down. Vivienne wants a trampoline and we do trampolines.’’
Tubbs, along with staff members Sovann Tubbs and Chris Ryan, turned up to install the trampoline on Monday in Harlick’s backyard.
As the shy three-year-old returned home after daycare she was visibly thrilled by the sight of her new trampoline – climbing straight up to play on it with her cousins.
Harlick said Vivienne had been asking about the trampoline over the last few weeks. ‘‘I said Santa might bring you a trampoline, but we didn’t let on it was coming. We wanted it to be a total surprise for her.’’