Sleigh bells ring on Sick Kids trip oif a lifetime

Published on Wednesday 24 December 2008 08:53

IT was a dream no-one dared to believe might come true. But when a group of young Edinburgh hospital patients touched down in snowy Lapland for a Christmas trip of a lifetime, they were granted their wish that they might forget their life-challenging conditions just for one day.

And for a few magical, happy hours in the winter wonderland of Santa's homeland, children whose short lives have been blighted by hospital visits, operations, heart-breaking diagnosis and gruelling treatment, were finally able to smile again.

They had travelled to the top of the world, wheelchairs carefully packed in the plane's hold and assorted medical essentials within arm's reach, accompanied by a dedicated team of volunteers all on board to lend a hand during one of the most uplifting and heart- tugging journeys imaginable.

Organised by Edinburgh charity FACE, the trip to Lapland is an annual emotional rollercoaster journey for some of the area's most deserving youngsters.

It had taken months of organising, a nail-biting countdown waiting for doctors to give each ill child the go-ahead to travel, a last minute panic over a missing passport and the unfortunate moment when one wheelchair simply refused to budge in deep snow.

But it all melted away when one mesmerised child after another finally came face to face with the man every youngster wants to meet – the real Santa.

There was six-year-old Kacey Renwick, painfully shy with her head bowed low on to her chest, her blonde pigtail popping out from beneath her pink and white snow hat. This time last year she was just like any other little girl, confident, going to dance classes and joining in the fun at Wallyford Primary School.

By March, she had been struck by a rare allergic reaction. Dubbed TENS, Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis is a potentially life-threatening skin disorder that causes the skin's layers to become detached leaving sufferers prone to infections. It affects one in a million youngsters. In Kacey's case it has severely affected her eyes. And while surgeons have carried out several corneal grafts aimed at saving her sight, this Christmas Day is one the youngster will barely be able to see.

With her is Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Sick Children staff nurse Emma Bradbury. "How will I know what the elves are doing if I can't see them?" Kacey, below, whispers. "Don't worry," says Emma gently, "I'll tell you."

The children are wrapped in warm snowsuits, the snow is pure and crisp and the smell of woodsmoke from the log fires lingers in the air. It's mid-afternoon but pitch dark. Hundreds of lanterns light the paths and the children cuddle together for magical sledge rides pulled by Santa's reindeer.

Children like Shaun Shirkie of Dalkeith who shares an illness with his uncle Darren King. Both have Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a serious genetic blip that their family was unaware of until Darren was diagnosed as a baby.

Even when Darren's heavy electric chair became stuck in the snow – and four FACE helpers finally conceded that carrying it was out of the question – Santa's elves magically flew to the rescue with lightweight chairs fitted with "skis" and reins.

Soon Darren, 12, and Shaun, seven – whose mum, Laura is Darren's sister – were enjoying a fairytale reindeer ride through the Lapland forest, a thrilling husky sledge ride and then a breathtaking whizz over a frozen lake for their special meeting with Santa.

The trip was particularly poignant for Darren because it's one his family thought he wouldn't make. Earlier this year he underwent major surgery to fit 21 metal rods in his back to improve his curved spine. Both boys are facing a lifetime in a wheelchair.

Each child has their own battle to fight. For leukaemia patients Rachel Williamson, eight, from Craigmount and ten-year-old Jillian Neil from Rosewell, the trip is a special reward after a gruelling year of treatment. They chat and giggle as they make their way along a candlelit forest path to Santa's wooden home, only to fall silent as they are ushered inside.

Later they emerge clutching gifts, laughing as they tumble into the knee-high snow around his small cottage.

Then it's five-year-old Keegan Luker from Bathgate – with complex syndromes that have affected his development – who is far from tongue-tied in Santa's presence. "Is your beard real?" he demands.

Invited to touch it, he gently tugs the snowy whiskers, prompting an "Ouch!, yes, it IS real" chuckle from the great man himself.

It's one of dozens of moments that every day convince trip organiser John Macaulay, a retired police officer, and his FACE colleagues, it's worthwhile.

"All that matters is that these kids get a wonderful day they won't forget," says John from Currie, who helped launch the first FACE Lapland trip 15 years ago. "It's wonderful to see their faces.

"We know that some children we bring on these trips don't have much time left – and that's the toughest bit of all.

"So if we can bring them to Lapland where they can play in the snow, meet Santa and have fun, that's all that matters."

It's a day that hospital staff relish too. Dr Angela Edgar, consultant oncologist at Edinburgh's Sick Kids hospital, says the charity's workers help the youngsters leave behind their health problems. She says: "It's been truly fantastic to share in the magical experience of Lapland. The enthusiastic FACE charity volunteers work tirelessly to ensure the children have the adventure of a lifetime."

June McIntosh, radiotherapy nurse at the Western General agrees: "These children have so much to go through. It's a privilege to be among them and share their memories."

She is with six-year-old Caitlin Stewart, whose treatment for neuroblastoma has robbed her of her silky brown hair. Although from the Dundee area, she has joined the trip as a Sick Kids patient. But that was only after a last-minute passport crisis – Caitlin's documents arrived just hours before their flight was due to leave.

Still it was worth the stress. "I'm asking Santa for some makeup," says Caitlin.

Meanwhile one of the day's most touching moments comes when Sick Kids patient Ashleigh Hannah, 11, struck by a series of perplexing symptoms which have defied diagnosis and left her unable to communicate, finds herself face to face with the man she's waited to see.

Silent for most of the day, she suddenly squeals and shakes with excitement.

The trip, explains John, is also a chance for the charity to say thanks to some who have helped raise much needed funds, like eight-year-old Hannah Moffat from Dunfermline, who raised 70 by selling FACE badges at her school.

It's not confined to primary age children either. "Teenagers can miss out because they are that bit older but they love it here too," he says, indicating a group of three lads and two girls who have gathered, a little self-consciously outside Santa's woodland home.

Even they can't help themselves from grinning ear to ear as they shuffle inside, where cancer patient Scott Campbell, 16, of Portobello, hands his Hibs scarf to the Easter Road's latest recruit – the man in red – while 16-year-old amputee Niall Anderson of East Linton and helper Paul Davies, 18, from Musselburgh provide the banter.

For ovarian cancer patient Jennifer Wilson, 16, from Fife and 13-year-old Gina Easton from Livingston, who is undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, it's a moment to forget all they have been through and simply enjoy Christmas.

"I want you all to be very good and I'll bring you all some presents," says Santa, "That means no clubbing."

The youngsters make such a moving sight, that one passenger on the Globespan flight home to Edinburgh suddenly approaches John and presses an envelope containing 100 into his hands. "I didn't even get his name," says John.

"But that's what happens with this trip," he adds. "It touches people in a way they never realised they could be. It is magical."