Courageous David

David Hutch is an extraordinary courageous 10yr old boy who has suffered continuously since the day he was born fighting Vacterl Syndrome, a terrible illness which affects his heart and lungs.

When his Aunt Alison contacted Shay Kinsella of Share a Dream, Shay immediately wanted to help. Alison asked for a magical day for the entire family to remember and give them some special memories. David’s hero is Stampylongnose so if he too could appear on the day as David would be too ill to travel to see him.

On Sunday the 18^th of October David his brother Adam, sister Shannon and his parents Vanessa & David were collected by Limo and chauffeured to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown.

There they assited a very special party & concert with Boyband Taken, Jill O Neill School of Dance, characters Mickey, Donald, Woody, etc.

David, who was nominated for a Share a Dream National Children of Courage Award later in the year received an award along with his special dream, his hero Stampylongnose of Minecraft made an appearance to give David a special message!

A Puppy for Ben

Ben Herbert was only 5yrs old when he was diagnosed with High Risk B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

During this period Ben endured a huge amount. He underwent intensive treatment for the first 8 months, with gruelling results – he lost 10 lbs in 4 days, was hospitalised and placed on morphine as a result.  He endured 13 blood transfusions (each lasting at least 5hrs). Sometimes Ben was 6 days a week in Crumlin hospital for chemo therapy and took over 160 chemotherapy tablets a month to keep him alive and the doses increase as his height and weight increase.

Ben received his National Children of Courage Award in November 2014 from the Share a Dream Foundation and his dream come true was to have his own Black Female Labrador puppy, which he planned to call Molly. However, Ben couldn’t get the puppy until after his treatment finished in July 2015 and he was in remission so his mum felt his 10th birthday was the perfect time to surprise him!

Young Liverpool fan Adam has his dream come true

12yr old Adam O’ Shaughnessy from Limerick like most young boys his age adores football and his beloved club Liverpool FC.

However, Adam can’t play the game as much as he would like as he has a rare condition called Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP). There is no-one else in Ireland with the condition.

Adam’s teacher wrote to Share a Dream explaining that “the past year had been tough on Adam as he gets older and becomes aware of his limitations. He is often in pain as his body becomes gradually more and more encases in bone. Any trauma or fall could have catastrophic consequences. It’s nightmare trying to balance Adam’s desire to run and play soccer in the school yard and the need to protect him. Adam adores Liverpool FC and I think it would be lovely for him to go there and see his favourite team while he is still mobile.”

So, after hearing Adam’s story and his love for his beloved team Share a Dream got to work.

Adam and his mum Antoniette flew to Manchester to watch Liverpool take on Manchester United. He had Golden passes for the game and stayed over that night before returning home the following day.

Zac and Ross visit Disneyland

6yr old Zac and 5yr old Ross Corkish from Naas, Co. Kildare are two lovable little rogues and like to get up to all sorts like many boys their age.

Unfortunately, however, the boys both suffer from Cowden’s Syndrome. This means they both suffer with severe developmental delay, poor muscle tone and are both in wheelchairs.

Their parents contacted Share a Dream Foundation to make their dream come true and last September all the family flew out to Disneyland for a 3 day VIP trip.

Along with their older brother Corey (11yrs) the boys and their parents visited the parks enjoying all the rides, shows and parades and of course meeting their favourite character Mickey Mouse.

Rose of Tralee makes dream come true

16 year old Niamh Gleeson from Bansha, Tipperary who suffers from a very painful illness Juvenile Arthritis had a dream to be the Rose of Tralee.

After arriving to the beautiful Fels Point Hotel, and checking in Niamh and her family were greeted by the Mayor of Tralee Pat Fitzpatrick.

Then it was off to the Spa where she got her make-up done while enjoy some delicious Mock-tails and goodies. Next a Garda escort arrived to whisk her off to Tralee Garda Station for a full tour of the surveillance and operations centre before escorting her to Kelly’s Hairdressers were she got her hair done.

At the parade Niamh got the shock of her life when she was greeted by Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh, who asked her new friend to join her on the main float beside her. Then Niamh was really overcome when Maria offered to switch sashes with her and also gave her the very special Rose of Tralee crown just for a very “special moment in time”.

Finally, Niamh visited a number of shops where she received numerous gifts and later that evening went to a special meet and greet with Boyband “Hometown” and attended their concert with her family.