Make- a- wish appeals for local volunteers
WHEN Donal Parsons was given one wish that could come true, he wished for Lego - and lots of it.
The Strandhill schoolboy was just six years of age when he was diagnosed with cancer. The Make A Wish Foundation stepped in to help Donal’s wish come true. In all the nationwide charity helped six sick children from Sligo last year alone, making their dreams come true.
Irene Timmins, Head of Fundraising for Make- a- Wish explains: “Originally Donal wished for the Lego Millennium Falcon Ultimate Collectors Item which was rare and difficult to source. The price range was approx. € 6,500 on eBay. When Make A Wish spoke to his mum, Jane she was appalled at the price and said she couldn’t justify this amount of money on one item when once built would have to be put in a display case. Donal changed his wish to ‘ lots and lots of Lego’ and although only 9, selected Lego creations in the 16+ age bracket. They included the Star Wars Lego, Towerbridge, Sydney Opera House and Batman’s batcave.
Jane Parsons says: “Donal has always been mad about Lego, it was the only toy he was ever interested in and from a very young age he loved building sets and making his own Lego worlds. When he was 6, Donal was diagnosed with stage 4 Cancer ( Neuroblastoma) and we discovered that he had multiple tumours throughout his body and cancer in his bones. His love of Lego then took on a new and important role to help him through the tough months of treatment ahead. Within 10 days of starting his initial chemotherapy, we realised that Donal had lost the sight in his right eye, this was due to tumors in his skull. We were told by the doctors that they didn’t know if he would also permanently lose the sight in his left eye and we just had to wait and watch him. Donal soon got very fed up with us checking what he could see, so we decided that if he was playing Lego, building his sets, finding the very small pieces and following the instructions, we could be reassured that his left eye wasn’t deteriorating.
“Donal’s cancer treatment was extreme, within 14 months he had been through every sort of treatment you can think off, all of which made him extremely ill. Often, the only thing that would encourage Donal to sit up in bed was the latest set he was building. When Donal started the Make- A- Wish process and said he wanted Lego, we were concerned, not because we didn’t want him to have it but because for the endless amazing possibilities open to Donal, we wanted to make sure that he fully understood his wish. Of course we were wrong to be concerned, this was the best possible wish for our little boy. The day the Lego arrived he said was the “best day of his life”. Since then our house has been full of Donal’s little friends helping him build.”
Ahead of its annual fundraising drive day the charity is giving a shout out for local volunteers.
Irene says: “Wish Day will take place across Ireland on Friday 31st March. All we are asking is a few hours from the people of Sligo to sell some of our wish bands and badges, which cost € 2 each. Wishes make memories that last many lifetimes.” To sign up to volunteer visit www. makeawish. ie