A Galway schoolgirl who has battled cancer since she was three was flown to Los Angeles to design and make her very own Barbie doll in a trip of a lifetime organised by the Make-A-Wish Ireland charity.
Aideen Conneely from Headford has been a fan of Barbies through thick and thin. So during a long stint in hospital when she was given a wish book and asked about her favourite colours, toys and hobbies, the doll with the impossibly perfect figure appeared everywhere. The toy giant Mattel were contacted about getting involved and they went above and beyond the call of duty.
Aideen was whisked to a hotel in Dublin and put up in a suite decked out in pink and brim full of toys sent over by the company. Upon arriving in Los Angeles they were transported to their hotel in Santa Monica by a pink limousine.
Their Venice Beach luxury hotel was again kitted out with every imaginable Barbie accessory – from Barbie toothpaste, night dresses and games. On their arrival at the factory, Aideen was presented with her own office, given a name badge and asked to come up with her fantasy doll clothes.
In collaboration with the fashion designers and staff on the factory floor, she designed outfits, jewellery and bling accessories for her dream Barbie.
Afterwards her parents Rosie and Gerry Conneely and siblings Darragh and Rachael were treated to ten days of pure bliss, visiting Disney World, Universal Studios and Warner Brothers.
“It was like something out of a fairy story. It was unbelievable. They really did blow it out of all proportion. Two years later we’re still coming to terms with it. It really was the trip of a lifetime,” exclaimed Rosie.
“Mattel sent everything home from the office except for the computer and computer chair. They sent 12 or 13 boxes of stuff so she’ll never be stuck for pink and purple stuff anyway.”
Aideen, now aged nine, has had to endure a lot of dark days since being diagnosed in 2010 with myelodysplastic syndrome, a condition where the bone marrow does not make enough healthy blood cells.
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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