YES, YOU MADE THEIR DREAMS COME TRUE
. . . thanks to your magnificent response to our appeal to transform the lives of desperately ill children — as their joyously uplifting stories reveal
By the time Daisy Pritchard was 21 months old, it was clear to her mum, eileen, that something was badly wrong. She was small and weak and wasn’t thriving, and doctors soon discovered that she had a congenital heart problem.
Since then, she has had open heart surgery three times, two strokes, lost the use of her right arm and hand, developed epilepsy, suffers from regular seizures and agoraphobia and has sight, balance and mobility issues.
her life has been round after round of hospital appointments, painful procedures, frustrations and disappointments.
But, for one happy weekend, all that pain and suffering flew out of the window when Daisy, now 11 years old, met her long-time heroes Simon Cowell and David Walliams on the set of TV’s Britain’s Got talent.
Daisy larked about with David, discussed their respective pet dogs with Simon, then watched the show from prime seats just behind the judges.
‘It was the best day of her year, her life,’ says eileen, 48. ‘She was beside herself. So happy. She still talks about it every day and has written ‘‘Simon’’ all over her pencil case.’
even better, it wasn’t just a day, but a whole weekend, with stretch limousines, luxury hotels and, more importantly, her whole family — her mother, elder sister (who also suffers serious health issues) and two elder brothers — along for the fun. It was the first time they have ever managed a trip away together.
Eileen, a single mum who gave up her job as a carer for terminally-ill young adults when Daisy was diagnosed, says: ‘We’ve never even considered a family outing before — it’s just too hard to arrange. It was better than we could ever have imagined and we are so, so grateful.
‘this year has been very difficult and it gave us all a huge boost.’
Daisy’s epic weekend, organised by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, was thanks to kind-hearted Mail readers who gave generously to our Quids For Kids Christmas Appeal last year in aid of the charity, which makes magical dreams come true for children fighting cancer and other lifethreatening conditions.
you gave a wonderful £263,000 to the charity and, as a result, have helped make wishes come true, not just for Daisy, but for dozens of brave youngsters like her.
With the help of Make-A-Wish’s specialist ‘wish granters’, each child is able to choose exactly what they’ve always wanted — be it a day living as a mermaid in a specially designed costume in Spain, hosting a Princess Party, or, in one case, forgetting about their wheelchair and degenerative spinal condition for a day and soaring high in the dawn sky in a hot air balloon.
For once in their challenging lives, the help doesn’t need to be practical, useful, healthy or even terribly sensible. Just fun.
Arjun, five, who lives with autism and cancer of the eye, took the controls of a commuter train.
Six-year-old Finn, who has acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, went to lapland. Ollie, 13, who has hodgkin’s lymphoma, hand-fed sea turtles at an aquarium.
Catrin, seven, from north Wales, was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was just five and is now on maintenance treatment, having daily chemotherapy.
She loves dinosaurs and digging things up in the garden — and, thanks to Make-A-Wish and the Mail, she became a palaeontologist for the day and went home with her own real dinosaur bone.
loyd, who suffered brain damage after a series of mystery seizures, it interviewed i dhi his hero, h li liverpool LFC FC manager Jurgen Klopp.
Daisy’s mum was originally going to encourage her daughter to opt for a hot tub for the garden — she is also allergic to pain relief, so the warm water would have soothed her aches. But then she changed her mind. ‘I thought: “let’s go mad. let’s go for something money can’t buy — something crazy and fun — lapland, Disneyland, America . . .” ’ says eileen.
But Daisy — who loves horses, dogs and, most of all, Britain’s Got talent — wanted to go on the set of the show and meet the judges. And that’s what she got, complete with flashing paparazzi cameras as she arrived in her very own limo.
So often, it is the children’s courage that gives their parents the strength to cope.
In December 2015, ted, now 11, was diagnosed with a benign tumour at the top of his spine.
his mother, lisa, 50, had been convinced something was wrong since he was a baby. ‘everyone
kept telling me he was dyspraxic or dyslexic, but I sensed it was something more,’ she says. ‘I think he’s had it from when he was born — he’s been through a lot.’
Since January 2016, Ted has had two 12-hour operations, spent three months in Oklahoma having proton beam therapy, had extensive occupational therapy to recover from slight paralysis caused by his second operation and missed more than a year of school. ‘Bless him — on top of it all, he’s autistic as well, so he struggles socially,’ says Lisa.
‘But he just gets on with things — he’s amazing. He been the strongest boy and his attitude has almost made it bearable for us.’
Train-mad Ted’s wish was to ride a proper Pullman steam train and, at the station, he met Paddington. Lisa says: ‘They took us there in a limo and Ted went up front. They had a magician and a storyteller. He was so excited — he felt special for weeks. He was happy. And, as long as he’s happy, that’s all that really matters now.’ Of course, some children aren’t able to choose the wish themselves because of their condition.
Charlie, from Wiltshire, is four. He has Down’s syndrome and loves trains, cars, books, music and, most of all, splashing around in water. He was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was just three and his mother, Emma, was 19 weeks pregnant with his little brother, Harry.
‘Even for a normal little boy, being in hospital would have been traumatic,’ says Emma, 39. ‘Charlie was very unwell — he was suffering and hurting and didn’t understand what was going on. It was so far beyond his comprehension, but he was very brave and robust.’
Emma and her husband David did everything they could to try to make hospital fun for Charlie and practically moved into the ward with their son.
The logistics were almost impossible. When Harry was born in hospital in Southampton — where specialist doctors harvested stem cells from Emma’s umbilical cord, in case they were needed for his brother’s future treatment — Charlie was in Salisbury Hospital fighting a nasty infection. ‘We were like passing ships,’ says Emma.
But, somehow, they managed and, when Make-A-Wish offered help, they jumped at the chance.
‘At first, we thought of going to America or swimming with dolphins,’ says Emma.
In the end, they went for a wish that would last a lifetime — a year of one-on-one swimming lessons they couldn’t afford.
Charlie,
who is now in remission, loves it. He is already treading water and moving forward in his special inflatable suit and talks about his swimming instructor constantly.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation began in the UK in 1986 and has granted more than 10,000 wishes, which provide children with hope, joy and resilience to fight their illnesses. This year, it intends to help more than 1,000 youngsters aged between three and 17.
These children are often isolated, lonely and all too painfully aware of the fun they’re missing out on.
The impact of granting their wishes is palpable. According to Dr Simon Parke, a consultant paediatrician at the royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Make-A-Wish can actually help children feel better. ‘It can make them rally their strength in order to face what’s ahead,’ he says.
Of course, it is not just the sick child who suffers. When a child is seriously ill, the family is often rent apart.
Finn’s parents barely saw each other for the months he was in hospital. Mum Debbie moved into the hospital with her son, while dad Andy stayed at home looking after older brother Archie. That’s why wishes are for the
whole family — a treat offering a semblance of normality, not just to the sick child, but also their siblings and parents.
As Catrin’s mum Liz puts it: ‘When you’ve got a child with leukaemia, you can’t plan anything. It was such a treat to have something organised for us — to just turn up and enjoy it together.’
Having a seriously ill child must be one of the most terrible things that can happen to anyone.
The parents can never fully relax — not when the child’s in remission, not even when they’re given the all-clear.
‘We don’t know what’s around the corner, and I don’t know if the fear will ever go away — you just learn to live with it,’ says Emma, Charlie’s mum.
And as Ted’s mum Lisa puts it: ‘If you’ve got an ill child, nothing else matters. All you want is for them to be well and happy and you’d give anything to get them through.
‘You go to bed thinking about it, you wake up thinking about it. You’re never free of it. If my son says: “Mummy, I’ve got a headache”, then instantly I’m in a panic again. Fortunately, most people have no idea what it’s like.
‘But if you’ve got healthy kids, then, please, just thank God and hug them really tight.’
Brave little Daisy — still reminiscing about her day with David Walliams and Simon Cowell — has already overcome many obstacles in her life, but she has more to come.
Mum Eileen says: ‘Her mobility is getting worse. It’s very frustrating because she wants to be a gymnast. She just wants to be normal.
‘I try to teach her to count her blessings — there are lots of children much worse off. But she’s only 11, so it can be hard to feel lucky sometimes.’
These incredible children and their families deserve every ounce of support we can give them.
So, thank you again, kind Daily Mail readers for, as usual, exceeding all expectations in your generosity.
You gave more than a quarter of a million pounds to our Quids For Kids Appeal, supported the amazing Make-A-Wish Foundation and, most importantly, helped enhance the lives of many, many brave children.