From pediatrics ward to catwalk
Darcie Willis will not let being a ‘‘tomboy’’ stop her from strutting the catwalk at an upcoming fashion show.
The 4-year-old Dunedin girl also would not let a rare and aggressive cancer, discovered before she was old enough to start school, stand in her way.
Darcie was able to put Burkitt’s lymphoma behind her in August after being diagnosed in February last year.
She will visit familiar faces and friends when she heads back to Christchurch to take part, along with mum Cheryl, in the M Factor Fashion Show for Ronald McDonald House South Island (RMH) on April 1.
Cheryl Willis will also speak at the show, as a former guest of the house.
‘‘I was very honoured that they’d think of me to speak and then they said, ‘Oh, and would you take part in the show too?’ ‘‘ she said.
Darcie was still unfamiliar with the concept of a fashion show, but Willis said her daughter would enjoy the experience, despite being ‘‘a bit of a tomboy’’, as she continued to progress after treatment.
‘‘It was only yesterday she was dressed up in a princess outfit, which she does love to get dressed up in, but then she was running around with a toy chainsaw.
‘‘Because she’s got short hair, she often gets called a boy. She doesn’t say anything . . . but she puts her grumpy face on a little bit, so I think she will enjoy getting dressed up from that point-ofview.’’
The show is entering its eighth year after organiser Maree Harris came up with it as a way to give back to a charity important to her.
Harris, a dance teacher, deputy principal at Elmwood Normal School and the owner of M Factor Events, said family experiences were the inspiration for the show.
Her nieces, twins, were born prematurely and spent two months at the ‘‘welcoming and family-orientated escape’’ that was RMH. Former RMH guests and family, as well as pupils from Harris’ school, will be among those showing off the latest from Andrea Moore, Augustine, Annah Stretton and more. About $37,000 was raised from the 2016 show.
Darcie’s next step is to start school, alongside her older brothers, Harry, 10, and Jesse, 7, when she turns 5 in May.
‘‘There was a time there, when she was really sick, that her personality didn’t really resemble what it was,’’ Cheryl Willis said.
‘‘She’s back to herself again. She’s funny, she’s cheeky, full of life and slowly . . . her energy has come back as well.’’
The show is being held on April 1 at The Foundry. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.co.nz at $75 for VIP, $55 for general admission and $30 for children and students.
"She's back to herself again. She's funny, she's cheeky, full of life and slowly . . . her energy has come back as well." Cheryl Willis