Strangers help stricken Emily to enjoy dream trip
ATERMINALLY ill woman’s dream trip to New York has come true, thanks, in part, to strangers.
Emily Kendrick, from Ystrad Mynach, is 25 and battling terminal ovarian cancer.
One of her dreams was to travel to New York with her mum, Sonia, a trip they had planned to take in years to come.
In August Sonia put a desperate appeal online asking if people could help that dream come true, as the family feared time was running out.
They wanted to help Emily achieve as many of her dreams as possible.
They were overwhelmed when friends, family and strangers came together to raise the money needed.
Last week Emily and Sonia got to take that trip of a lifetime.
Emily’s grandmother, Janet, had been saving up to fund the holiday and money was spent on paying for her and Emily’s sister, Amy, to join them.
It meant they could have the ultimate girls’ trip abroad with plenty of surprises along the way.
Sonia arranged a limo to take them from the airport into the city, and British Airways arranged for them to stay in a five-star hotel on Times Square.
They saw sights including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Empire State Building, as well as the 9/11 Memorial.
The family also packed in plenty of shopping in the city.
Their final surprise was when Sonia presented Emily and Amy with their Christmas present – a helicopter trip over the city.
Emily said: “It was brilliant and just incredibly nice to do together.” She said her highlight was dinner at the Rockefeller Centre, overlooking the incredible Christmas tree.
“It was really beautiful,” Emily said.
“We were there having dinner when Mum gave us an envelope.
“I thought it was a voucher, but it was our tickets for the helicopter. “That was amazing,” she said. “I am just so completely grateful to everyone.
“We all wanted to go but our circumstances had changed so quickly, but it was amazing.
“I am so grateful to everybody for every single penny they donated.
“It has meant one of my dreams has come true.
“I absolutely loved every second of it,” she said.
Emily was only 23 when she found a lump in her navel.
Doctors initially thought it was a hernia and a cyst on her ovary and opted for keyhole surgery to remove it, but then discovered it was cancer.
At the time Emily, who is a serving member of the Royal Air Force, was living in Scotland but she returned home to Ystrad Mynach with her mum.
She was then transferred to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where she continues to work.
Aged 24, Emily was told she would need a hysterectomy, and further surgery revealed that her cancer is inoperable.