by Alan Jacques
A BRAVE little girl from County Limerick who is battling with terminal illness has realised her magical dream of being a princess for a day.
Five-year-old Alexandra Costa from Effin has spent the last four years battling a cancerous tumour that shows up in the body’s soft tissues called rhabdomyosarcoma. And while most children of her age are now preparing for Santa’s visit on December 24, this beautiful little trooper is under the constant care of paediatricians and a palliative care team.
Every moment Alexandra has with her adoring family right now is precious and they have moved heaven and earth to try and make all her dreams come true.
According to her mother Tracy, Alexandra loves princesses, especially Princess Elsa and Princess Anna from the popular Walt Disney movie ‘Frozen’.
“She also loves Santa but he won’t be here until Christmas which could be a lifetime away for Alexandra and she would also love a party with her school friends who haven’t seen her in a while,” she explained.
After contacting Share A Dream, the little Limerick princess had her Disney-like dreams realised last Saturday.
The royal occasion kicked off with Alexandra and her four-year-old sister Vanessa and mum Tracy being collected by limo from their home in Effin before travelling to Kilmallock along with a cavalcade of Garda cars, fire engines and, of course, the all-important Dream Machine.
Once they reached the town, a parade took place with hundreds of locals lining the streets to share in Alexandra’s dream day. Afterwards, she was whisked off with her family to Charleville for a day of pampering and a big party with all her classmates as well as getting to meet her two favourite princesses, Elsa and Anna.
“Share A Dream do incredible things for very sick children like our Alexandra and this will give us a lift this Christmas and will be a memory we will always cherish,” her mum said.
Share a Dream are now celebrating 25 years of making dreams come true for children like Alexandra all over Ireland. Founder Shay Kinsella likened Alexandra to an “angel” after giving her and her family a treasured early Christmas gift.
To donate to Share A Dream contact www.shareadream.ie or call 061-200080/200083.
