Theme park thrill for Finlay
News release and photo for immediate use
Wednesday 17 October 2012
Five year old Finlay Taylor was diagnosed with Leukaemia in December last year. On Wednesday 12 September Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK, the charity that grants magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions, granted his wish to meet Spiderman at LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort!
Finlay’s Mum, Angela, kept his wish a surprise until they were on their way to LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. She said: “Finlay was so excited when it dawned on him that he was on his way to meet Spiderman!” Finlay spent the morning with his favourite superhero asking him questions, such as which film he preferred starring in, and giving him lots of helpful advice on how to defeat his enemies – he even armed Spiderman with silly string from his web shooter to use against the Green Goblin! Finlay then got to ride on The Dragon rollercoaster with Spiderman, which Angela explained was his favourite moment because he got lots of attention from other children in the park!
Finlay, who is from Sutton Coldfield, was diagnosed after Angela noticed he had a puffy eye. Initially it was suspected that he had Cellulitis but a blood test revealed that it was in fact Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). From December until May Finlay spent most of his time in hospital, only being allowed home for a few days after each bout of chemotherapy – he had four lots in total, which caused his hair to fall out. During his time in hospital Finlay also had to have an operation to remove a mass from his brain which turned out to be an infection. He now has CT scans and lumbar punctures every three months, as well as monthly blood checks.
Angela said: “The best thing about Finlay’s wish, for me, was being able to spend time together and seeing Finlay’s face when Spiderman walked in – it bought a tear to my eye. It was also nice to go swimming in the hotel pool, as that was the first time Finlay had been swimming since being diagnosed. We had such a lovely time.”
There are currently 20,000 children and young people in theUKfighting a life-threatening condition and this year alone 1,400 children will turn to Make-A-Wish to have their wish granted. The charity needs to raise £6.8 million in 2012 and receives no government funding or lottery grants – so every donation really does count.
To make a donation to Make-A-Wish please visit www.make-a-wish.org.uk or telephone 01276 40 50 60.
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For more information about this news release please contact:
Hayley Epps: T: 01276 405093 M: 07557563214 E: hayley.epps@makeawish.org.uk
Notes to editors:
1. More photos available if required and the family are available for interview.
2. Please note that Make-A-Wish does not use phrases such as ‘terminally ill’ in order to respect the sensitive nature of life-threatening conditions and what they mean to children and young people and their families. We would ask that this approach is followed and that the term ‘life-threatening conditions’ is used in material for publication.
3. Make-A-Wish should be referred to as Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK in the first instance. Thereafter ‘Make-A-Wish’ or ‘Make-A-Wish Foundation’ is suitable. We would ask that you try to keep ‘Make-A-Wish’ on the same line.
4. Make-A-Wish grants magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions. The charity was founded in the UK in 1986. Registered charity number: 295672/SC037479 www.make-a-wish.org.uk.
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