A six-year-old Disney fan with complex health conditions was left filled with joy after she was invited to a special event for children too ill to travel abroad.
Ella, from Leicestershire, attended A Disney Wish, organised by Make-A-Wish UK and Disney, where she met princesses, Toy Story characters and watched a Frozen-themed show.
Her mother Hayley, said the event felt just “like you’re at Disneyland”, and the most special moment was when Ella watched a show based on the film Frozen.
“Ella was full of smiles,” she said. “It was pure excitement and joy. It melted me. I couldn’t believe how amazing it was.”
Ella, who has been described as “happy, cheeky and determined” by her family, was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart condition before birth.
She then had surgery, but suffered complications which meant she spent the next 159 days in intensive care and had to relearn skills including sitting and eating.
She has since been diagnosed with global developmental delay, non-verbal autism, epilepsy and pica, an eating disorder where a person compulsively consumes non-food items.