Meet Larna

10-year-old Larna is an active and happy girl. She loves football, watching films, and spending time with her friends. Her best friend in the world is her big brother Blake. 

When she was 2 and a half, Larna’s dad, Nick, noticed she had developed a sore and swollen eye overnight. Her mum, Lorraine, originally thought it was caused by dust. But when it was still no better a few hours later, Lorraine took Larna to the doctor.  

“It looked like she’d been hit by Mike Tyson,” she recalls. “The doctor said it was likely conjunctivitis, but was concerned that it was only in one eye. In the end, they sent us to the hospital to get it checked out.” 

Larna was tested and monitored for hours, with doctors and nurses asking lots of questions. At one point, a doctor gave Larna’s parents a list of potential causes of Larna’s poorly eye – and one stood out to her.  

“The doctor mentioned leukaemia, which immediately got my attention,” says Lorraine, explaining that her brother sadly had leukaemia when he passed away years ago. She told the doctor, who ordered more tests.  

Several hours later, the doctor returned to Nick and Lorraine.  

“Immediately, I just knew we were getting the news our baby had cancer,” says Lorraine. “After they told us, they asked me if I needed a moment to process the news – but all I wanted was to get moving and figure out what our next step was.” 

Larna was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. She and her parents were quickly transported from her local hospital to Great Ormond Street Hospital to begin treatment.  

Why Larna chose the wish

During one of Larna’s stays at GOSH, her ward was visited by Cinderella. Some of her fellow young patients were able to go up to, play and dance with Cinderella, but because she was so poorly, Larna wasn’t able to leave her bed.  

“I remember her being so disappointed about it, and asking me if she could dance with Cinderella when she was better,” Lorraine says. “My heart broke for her, and I made her that promise right there and then.”  

Some time later, Larna’s family was introduced to Rays of Sunshine – and suddenly it seemed like Larna’s wish to dance with her favourite princess would become a reality.  

“We gave Rays of Sunshine the idea for the wish, and then Larna’s wish granter just ran with it,” Lorraine says. “She was so keen to get all the details right, it sometimes felt like she was able to read our minds!” 

This wish

On the day of Larna’s wish, she and a handful of her closest friends and family put on their fanciest outfits. Larna, of course, was wearing a blue ballgown to match her favourite princess, Cinderella. The group travelled in a minibus from their home in Essex, into central London – where they were welcomed to the luxurious Clermont Hotel in Victoria.  

Larna’s wish would take place in one of the Clermont’s special ballrooms, which had been decorated especially for her with balloons, lights, special signs, a photobooth, and even her own pick-and-mix sweet stall.  

“Larna’s face when she walked in, we’ll never forget it,” says Lorraine. “I don’t think she could believe it was all there for her.” 

The surprises didn’t stop there, however – there was one more VIP to come. With everyone else in the room, the one and only Cinderella made her appearance. Cinderella had plenty of games and fun to play with Larna and her friends, from pass the parcel, to parachute games and more.  

But by far the most special moment was when Larna and Cinderella stood up in front of the other guests and danced together.  

“It just felt like a true full circle moment,” explains Lorraine. “We’d all gone from seeing our Larna so poorly, and wondering how much time we had left with her, to seeing her absolutely beaming, fulfilling one of her greatest wishes while surrounded by so much love.”  

The impact of the wish

Larna is now finished with her treatment, and gets to have the same experiences as her friends. She goes to school, has hobbies, and gets to spend time with her brother and family. 

“This is exactly what we were dreaming of for those years she was in treatment, but I won’t lie and say that it isn’t scary, not having a full medical team to lean on all the time anymore,” Lorraine says.  

“After so many years of treatment, it felt like everything ended quite quickly and left us without a feeling of closure,” she adds. “But with the help of Rays of Sunshine and Larna’s wish, we all feel like that chapter has finally ended. We’re still floating on air at how special the whole thing was.” 

According to Lorraine, Larna’s wish gave the whole family something to look forward to. And when it finally arrived, it was a perfect celebration of everything the family had dealt with and been through together.  

“As parents, we feel lighter and more ready to deal with the future, because we’ve been able to properly draw a line under that experience with Larna’s wish,” she says. “I would recommend a wish at the end of treatment to anyone who has been through what we’ve been through – it was the most therapeutic ending to a traumatic time.”