December 2008:   The letter below is from the parents of Jack Atkinson in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. We, the FHLTA, helped fund a trip to Disney World which was organised under the auspices of the TSUK.

Dear All,

I want to thank you and the FHLTA so much for your support with funding for Jack and the rest of the family to go on the TSUK holiday to Disney.

It was a truly magical experience which was made all the more special by sharing it with the other transplant children and their families.

I wish you you could have been there when we told jack last Wednesday morning where he was going and the look on his face when he walked through the gates at Disney.   Jack had been watching the Disney adverts on TV for weeks and asking if he could go.   It was so hard for us to keep the secret, but if we hadn't he would not have slept until we got there.

Jack found courage while he was there that he didn't know he had.   Progressing from rides like the Tea Cups and It's a Small World to the Haunted House and Big Thunder Mountain.   He would not go in the ghost train at home before!   It must be the magic of Disney.

It was great for we parents to meet up with other families who had been through similar experiences and to realise that we are not alone.   This was also the first time we had been brave enough to go on holiday outside of the UK and meeting the other families has given us the confidence to do this again, on our own.

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We also heard many wonderful stories about the Transplant Games and hope to take Jack to the games in Coventry in Coventry this summer.

I asked Jack to list the highlights of the trip and they are listed in ascending order:-

3   Big Thunder Mountain - "It was really fast and just like the runaway train in Indiana Jones".

2   The Haunted House - "It was really scary and there was a skeleton  playing a xylophone made out of skulls".

1   Star Wars Star Tours - "I got to be a Jedi Knight just like Anakin Skywalker and fly a spaceship and blow up the death star and everything".   He went on this ride 3 times.

Lucie's highlight (Jack's sister) was meeting the characters but she liked Daisy Duck the best because, " She had pink shoes".

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I guess our highlight was just seeing the children's reactions as they greeted each new magical experience with wide eyed wonder.

Thank you all so much,

David, Andrea, Jack and Lucie Atkinson

PS:   We got to meet Santa too

I thought you would all like to read this thank you letter from Professor Dark following a substantial contribution from the FHLTA.

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Last modified: 27-04-2008