Children put woes behind them on trip to visit Santa

Published on Thursday 24 December 2009 09:16

City charity organises Lapland holiday for youngsters facing difficult challenges this Christmas . . .

THERE'S only one more sleep to go, but Santa has already brought Christmas joy to some of Edinburgh's most deserving youngsters.

For at the top of the world, in the frozen landscape of Lapland and beneath a starry Arctic sky, the bravest and the most fragile children of all were given a Christmas treat they surely will never forget.

Some were desperately ill, others were dealing with traumas no child should have to cope with – for some, the heartbreak of losing a sibling, for others the relentless ordeal of caring for a sick relative – and all were guests of the man every youngster yearns to see tonight.

Twenty one wide-eyed children were whisked on board a jet to Lapland for a fun-filled day in Santa's winter wonderland by the caring members of Edinburgh-based hospital charity FACE.

It was a blissful, magical chance to forget for a few hours those personal challenges, and to simply revel in the snowy paradise of Santa's home.

Wrapped up warm in thick snowsuits, the youngsters – accompanied by 21 dedicated carers and helpers from the charity – stepped into a snowy Christmas card landscape of log cabins warmed by burning log fires and pretty forest walks lit with hundreds of twinkling lanterns.

For one teenager, the trip to Santa's Lapland wonderland was particularly poignant.

For on Christmas Eve last year, Shannon MacKenzie of Wallyford was being given the most devastating news imaginable – she was suffering from leukaemia.

"She had a sore leg," says mum Lyndsey, thinking back to 12 months ago when doctors confirmed their worst nightmare. "It lingered for around six weeks, when it didn't clear up doctors at the Sick Kids' said they'd do blood tests."

A bone marrow test on Christmas Eve last year confirmed the 13-year-old was suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukaemia – a potentially lethal cancer of the blood cells.

"We were supposed to go to the theatre that night to see The Tiger Who Came to Tea," says Lyndsey. "The doctors told us what was happening, my husband burst into tears but I just couldn't take it in. I kept thinking 'but it's Christmas Eve'."

Since then Shannon has undergone four gruelling courses of chemotherapy which, to add to her distress, caused her to lose her glossy straight hair. It meant that throughout six months of intensive treatment she was able to spend only 17 days at home.

Yet despite her personal challenges, Shannon was thinking of others. In isolation at hospital she took up arts and crafts to ease her boredom. Eventually she made so many handmade cards, painted plates and piggy banks that she was able to set up a stall at the Sick Kids' summer fayre, raising over 1500.

"We're incredibly proud of her," says mum Lyndsey. "It's been a tough year – for everyone, including her little brother Ross – but she's been amazing."

Shannon, a pupil at Holy Rood High School, says her trip to Lapland means this Christmas is already miles better than last year's.

"I remember mum and dad being really upset, but I thought at the time it was because my aunt's dog had just died," she recalls. "Going to Lapland was brilliant – nothing like I expected.

"I loved it."

Raising cash with her in hospital was Armadale teenager Rachel Cameron, also 13, who was embroiled in her own battle against leukaemia. Now best friends, the girls travelled side by side to Lapland where the misery of the past year was forgotten as they enjoyed racing across a frozen lake on skidoos and riding in sledges pulled by huskies.

Rachel was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) in June last year.

"She had a slight rash on her body and she was very pale and tired," her mum Karen recalls. "The doctors told us it was leukaemia but there was hardly a chance to absorb what was happening. I was numb for weeks afterwards – 18 months later I still feel like that."

Like Shannon, Rachel has undergone demanding chemotherapy sessions which weakened her immune system leaving her vulnerable to infections. Sadly just hours after returning home from Lapland she was back in hospital.

"She had an absolute ball though," insists Karen, "and she wouldn't have missed it for the world."

Among the children on the trip were Edinburgh sisters Chloe and Stephanie Campbell, aged seven and 12, from Juniper Green. It was a bitter-sweet journey for the girls for just days earlier their big sister Debbie, 18, lost her cancer fight.

The former Forrester High School pupil had battled leukaemia for years only to suffer a massive setback when she was diagnosed with two brain tumours.

Tragically, she died just five weeks after dancing the night away at her 18th birthday party.

"Debbie was a lovely girl," recalls John Macaulay, a former police office from Currie who organises the annual FACE Lapland trip. "We brought her to Lapland in 2000 and she had a wonderful time. It seemed right to bring her sisters too."

John is acutely aware that for some the Lapland journey is a rare – and possibly final – chance to enjoy just being children.

"These children are incredible," he adds. "They go through so much yet they just get on with it.

"It's a huge privilege to be able to take them to Lapland and see their faces when they meet Santa. If anyone deserves it, it's them."

Joining the group this year was little Lauren Hunter, 13. Her dad, Keith, 51, a former champion golfer and badminton player, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis seven years ago. More recently he suffered a heart attack and will spend this Christmas in hospital.

"Lauren is a really special wee girl," says mum Alison. "She does so much for us all.

"She helps look after her dad, she goes to the supermarket for us, she takes her dad out in his wheelchair and sits with him when he goes for treatment."

For Lauren, of Carrick Knowe, the flight to the north pole was a magical respite from juggling school and her role as carer.

"It wasn't what I expected," she giggles, "it was much much better! I loved it, it was brilliant."