Kimberley Walsh struggles to hold back tears at emotional Make-A-Wish event

10 July 2023 , 23:02

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Kimberley Walsh (Image: Getty)

Kimberley Walsh has told how she struggled to hold back tears as she watched a seven year old girl who suffers from mitochondrial disease hug her favourite Disney Princess.

The former Girls Aloud star, 41 - who is mum to son Bobby - spent the day with Lillia Sheppard for an event run by charity Make-A-Wish UK, which recreated the Disneyland magic for the families of 160 children with life-limiting conditions.

And Kimberley, who was joined by England footballer Mason Mount for the day, told how meeting Lillia and her family left her realising how much she takes for granted in her own life.

Speaking at the event Kimberley said: "I have been struggling to hold it together to be honest. It's easy for us to take things for granted, but then you see all the extra things that these parents have to think about and prepare, just to get through each day - it's huge.

"But also the love you can see between them all is just so heart-warming. To see Lillia so happy - she is non-verbal, but you could see her getting excited - and her mum and dad so devoted, is amazing."

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Kimberley Walsh and Mason Mount with Mickey and Minnie Mouse (Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images)

"They are just a wonderful family, and it's so lovely seeing how much they have got out of it, and they have experienced the magic of Disney.

"It's just wonderful to be part of this and get a little snippet of what is going on. For me, if they get a weekend of family time, and connect, and get a little bit of light relief without additional stresses - that's worth its weight in gold.

"This is very much for the whole family, not just for the child with the disability. You can see it means the world to them all."

Mason - who spent the day with Cooper McDonald, seven - added: "I had an incredible day with Cooper and his family, it was really special and puts a lot of things in perspective.

"We had an amazing time together, especially at the Marvel Avengers training and the Frozen singalong. Of course, we managed to chat all about Cooper's love for football too! I was so honoured to be involved, and it's honestly something I will never forget.

"The happiness brought to these families is unbelievable, you could see how they are really looked after. I felt very lucky to see it first hand."

Kimberley with Lillia Sheppard (HANSONIMAGES)

Lillia, with Kimberley and Mickey and Minnie Mouse at ‘A Disney Wish’ at Hoar Cross Hall (Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images)

Cooper suffers from severe congenital neutropenia and acute myeloid leukaemia. He is also recovering from a bone marrow transplant. Lillia, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease two years ago, after undergoing five years of tests.

She is a big Disney fan, and loves Belle and Moana, but has been unable to travel to Disneyland in Paris or Orlando because of the amount of medication and equipment she needs on a daily basis. But the Make A Wish event, held at the Hoar Cross Hall Hotel in Staffordshire, allowed her to have a taste of the Magic Kingdom - and organisers even sent her a princess dress to wear with a special hole for her feeding peg.

And her mum Emma, 35, said: "It has been absolutely amazing. Lillia has loved the lights, the noises and the music, and meeting the Disney Princess has been her favourite.

"Her brother Harrison has loved The Avengers and meeting Mason Mount - and it was so nice for him to be involved too, because he is such a good big brother and so involved with her.

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Kimberley joins Lillia and family for a photo with Moana (Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images)

"Lillia wasn't diagnosed properly until she was five, and it was hard to take in - knowing it is a life limiting condition and there is no treatment. It is hard to accept. So to do something like this is amazing.

"We try to make as many memories as we can with Lillia and Harrison as a family. She is so happy all the time, and just loves to be with people."

Kimberley went on: "Just chatting to Lillia and her family and watching them have fun is amazing. "Emma says that something like this means the world.. they are only an hour away from home, but it feels like they are a million miles away from hospitals and all those stresses, so they could relax and enjoy it."

Another child who benefited from the day out was Oscar Prince, four, from Bexley, South London - who has TARP syndrome, Large ASD, Chromosome 18 duplication, developmental delay, nocturnal NIV and dysmorphic features. He is also hypotonic.

The event was run by charity Make-A-Wish UK (Getty Images for Disney)

His mum Rachel said: "Because Oscar has so much equipment, it would just not be possible for us to go to Disneyland Paris. So to be able to come here has been amazing - for him and his brother Jack, who usually gets dragged around the hospital appointments with Oscar. So for him to just play and enjoy himself is wonderful.

"Mini Spiderman Lincoln Huyton, four, from St Helen's was also at the event. And his mum Tanya told how the family have never been on holiday, because the youngster has congenital heart defects and no spleen - making him prone to infections. She said: "We have a bucket list for Lincoln, but Paris would be too hard.

"So this has meant the world to the boys. We have had every emotion while we have been here, we couldn't have asked for anything better."

For more information, or to donate: visit Children's charity, granting wishes to seriously ill children | Make-A-Wish UK

Amanda Killelea