FIVE-YEAR-OLD Kacper Strzelczyk enjoyed the trip of a lifetime as he and his family jetted off for the magic of Disneyland.
The journey to the Paris-based theme-park was arranged by the Northern Ireland Children to Lapland and Days to Remember Trust – a charity that makes dreams come true for children living with serious conditions that are either life-limiting or life-threatening.
Holy Trinity pupil Kacper, who is from Enniskillen, suffers from diamond-blackfan anaemia – a condition where the bone marrow malfunctions and fails to make enough red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the body’s tissues.
Kacper has lived with this since he was a young baby and has required monthly blood transfusions.
His mother Agnieszka said: “Kacper was only three months old when he was diagnosed with it and he’s had the condition for over five years now.
“He needs to have blood transfusions to clear the iron out from his body as the treatment with steroids didn’t work for Kacper.
“The last option to improve his health would be a bone-marrow transplant. However, so far, we are still waiting for a donor.”
Agnieszka, along with husband Slawek, daughter Laura and of course Kacper himself were thrilled when the charity told them that they were Disney-bound.
She added: “Kacper is a happy boy – he loves his school – but he was really happy when we told him he was going to Disneyland. He was so excited.
“Disneyland was just great. Once we were on the plane, the kids were so delighted – you couldn’t ask for anything more when you saw their smiles.
“When we were there, it was so amazing. Even for us adults who were happy to be children again.
“Kacper loved Mickey Mouse, the trains and the stage shows – as well as the parades and music. Both he and Laura didn’t know which way to go first as there was so much going on. It was a busy day from early hours to late at night.
“Kacper didn’t get to meet Mickey Mouse but he did meet Minnie Mouse.
“The kids didn’t really want to leave but we promised we may come back some day.”
For further information on Northern Ireland Children to Lapland and Days To Remember Trust please visit https://nichildrentolapland.com/
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