Ailing girl ‘weds’ Spider-Man
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when ailing Layla’ got to ‘marry’ her favourite superhero
MANY little girls fantasise about marrying the man of their dreams – especially when that man is a superhero hell-bent on ridding the world of baddies. But in Layla O’Neill’s case, her dream came true. And the eight-year-old from North Riding, Johannesburg, is the happiest girl on earth after meeting her Prince Charming at the altar in a R185 000 wedding extravaganza fit for a princess.
It was a day of balloons, bubbles, white doves and rose petals – and one Layla’s family will never forget.
Terminally ill Layla touched hearts when she “wed” Spider-Man surrounded by close friends, family and some of her doctors on 11 January.
We meet Layla and her family a few weeks after her big day. She’s resting on a couch at home, a catheter dangling by her side, her wheelchair parked nearby.
How was your day at school, we ask. “Not good,” she replies wearily.
But her face lights up when we ask her about her wedding day. It was everything she could have wanted and more and her mom, Sharyn O’Neill-Hodgson, will forever be grateful to everyone who made her daughter’s big day so special.
Many kids’ ultimate dream is to go to Disneyland but Layla has always had other ideas. “I only want to marry SpiderMan,” she told her mom.
Layla became obsessed with Spidey six years ago. “I thought it was just a phase,” says Sharyn, a hairdresser. “But SpiderMan has become her source of comfort and love.”
Everything in her little girl’s life revolves around the web-tossing warrior.
“Her bubble bath, toothbrush and toothpaste are Spider-Man. Her wardrobe is full of Spider-Man clothes and toys and she won’t go to sleep unless her bed has her Spider-Man duvet on it.”
Sharyn gently lifts Layla so she can sit next to her, and one-year-old brother Owen O’Neill-Hodgson joins in, planting kisses on his sister’s cheeks. Older brother Christian O’Neill (20) is upstairs.
“Mommy, please massage me. My back is sore,” the little girl asks.
Layla was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer just before she turned four. She has ependymoma, which causes tumours to form in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord. She had eight tumours in her spine when she was first diagnosed – now she has about 32.
She became ill in 2012 and for a year Sharyn battled to find out what was wrong with her. Layla had constant headaches, struggled to breathe and walk, had nosebleeds and vomited blood.
At first doctors thought it was asthma, then meningitis, then leukaemia. Only in 2013 was a correct diagnosis made.
Since then Layla’s health has been deteriorating. Around her fifth birthday she became paralysed from the waist down and now her spine is effectively “melting”, Sharyn says.
When Layla went for a routine MRI in October last year the news was grim. Doctors told the family she probably had six months to live.
“The week before the scan I was extremely anxious,” Sharyn (37) says. “Something inside me knew this one wasn’t going to be good.”
Layla has had about 16 surgeries – on her brain, her stomach and her back as well as a skin graft after burning herself in the bath. Her muscles are wasting
away, her bladder has stopped working and her kidney function is poor. She has the learning ability of a four-year-old and attends a special-needs school.
“She’s fought so hard and now it seems she’s being taken away from us,” Sharyn says, her eyes welling up.
With precious time running out, Sharyn became determined to make her daughter’s wish of marrying Spider-Man come true.
First she contacted her friend Eugene Nagel, a professional photographer, and asked him if he’d take the pictures.
“We were going to do it in my friend’s backyard but Eugene said, ‘A superhero can’t get married in a backyard!’ ”
He pulled out all the stops to organise a venue, a wedding planner and a DJ. Funds for the R185 000 bash were provided by sponsors and well-wishers, except for R15 000 that came out of Sharyn’s pocket.
Christian’s friend Tristan Botes (20) agreed to be Spider-Man and beautiful Oakfield Farm in Muldersdrift, Gauteng, was chosen as the venue.
Before the big day Layla had a bridal party at a beauty salon where she and her “bridesmaids” were pampered and treated to cupcakes and non-alcoholic sparkling wine.
The lovely “bride” arrived at the ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage. Her two best friends pushed her down the aisle to the sound of Prince’s The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.
Layla wore a sparkly dress, a satin bow and a long train that covered the back of her wheelchair.
“When she saw Spider-Man she was so happy,” Sharyn recalls. “That smile on her face . . . Everyone was in tears.”
Layla and Spider-Man held hands before he knelt to “exchange vows”.
“The ‘pastor’, who’s another friend of mine, said, ‘Spider-Man, do you promise to always be there for Layla and always be her hero?’ “And he said, ‘Yes’.” Then he turned to Layla. “Do you promise to love Spider-Man as long as you have life?’ and she said, ‘Yes’.
“And the pastor said, ‘ Would you please gift Layla with the ring?’ ”
Spider-Man took her little hand, eased the ring onto her finger and sealed it with a kiss. Layla’s smile and the love in the room could have melted an iceberg, Sharyn says.
“I now pronounce you Layla and Spider-Man,” the pastor said and the guests went wild.
As the “newlyweds” stepped outside they were showered with bubbles and rose petals while two white doves were released.
At the reception the twosome cut their Spider-Man cake, which guests enjoyed with homemade lemonade.
“My sister made the most beautiful speech,” Sharyn says. “She thanked me and my husband for the hard work we’ve put in and for giving Layla an imagination.”
All eyes were on the couple for their first dance to John Legend’s All of Me.
Too soon it was time for Spidey to leave – people to save, crimes to prevent – and the new Mrs Spider-Man wasn’t impressed.
But she quickly got over it and went on to spend the night in the venue’s honeymoon suite, waking up to a slap-up breakfast in bed in the morning.
THE family live every day as if it’s their last, Sharyn says. And thanks to Layla, she now also believes in fairytales.
“I believe they do come true and that she’s had her happy ending. If you’re a mom you want to see your child walking down the aisle one day. There was a good chance I wasn’t going to see that but now I have.”
Sharyn’s favourite part of the day is when Layla wakes up and says, “Morning, Mommy. I’m awake.”
She’ll never forget the moment in the bridal suite when Layla held her mom’s face in her hands and kissed her while they were getting ready for the wedding.
But Sharyn is under no illusions about what lies ahead. “There’s a fine line between reality and fairytale and we know what’s coming.
“But until that day comes there’s always hope.”
‘Spider-Man has become her source of comfort and love’