Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. In November 2015, our dreams came true. We were able to take our terminally-ill, medically complex and fragile little girl on a holiday of a lifetime to Disneyland Florida. We never would of had the courage to do this on our own, however we boarded the plane, safe in the knowledge that there were 12 doctors sitting behind us, all there to help us whenever we needed them. There were also over 40 volunteers there to make life easier for our family, carrying essential equipment, running errands and making everything run smoothly. We were one of the incredibly lucky 25 families selected for last year's Caudwell Children Destination Dreams trip.
Life hasn't quite gone to plan for our family. At the tender age of 2.5yrs, our beautiful, clever little girl suddenly started to have seizures. 6 months later, she lost the ability to walk. Her ability to talk went soon after. Effie was diagnosed with Late Infantile Batten Disease, a very rare, fatal neurodegenerative disease, which would rob her of every skill, before taking her life, aged 6-12. By the time Effie was 5, she could no longer sit unaided, hold her head up, swallow or see. Our son was born just before Effie was diagnosed. George is 2 now, we are trying to create as many memories for him with Effie, in the hope that he will always remember his big sister.
We had the most incredible time in Florida, it truly was the holiday of a lifetime. We were treated like royalty, we were taken to different parks everyday, where Effie was given VIP passes. We met Mickey Mouse and even stroked a dolphin, which gave Effie the giggles! There were parties every evening, in the fantastic Give Kids The World village.
At the end of the holiday, we were able to put a star with Effie's name on, in the Castle of Miracles tower, where it will shine forever with all the other special angels attending this trip.
We would love the chance to raise money to send other families, going through the same horrific journey as us, on this year's Caudwell Children's Destination Dreams adventure.
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