We Had A Wish - Alice visits Venice at Carnival-time

Make-A-Wish arranged for Alice from South Wales to have a break from the hospital routine and take the holiday she craved in Venice.

Sixteen year old Alice, who is living with the bone cancer Osteosarcoma, has spent a lot of time in hospital since her illness was diagnosed and her wish was to visit Venice for a well-deserved break with her family. Make-A-Wish was able not only to grant her wish but to arrange the trip for Alice, Mum Hilary and Dad David so that it took place during the annual Venice Carnival, a very vibrant time in the famous canal-crossed city.

The time spent in hospital makes Alice felt very claustrophobic and she often used to look at holiday brochures as means of escape. Venice became the destination of choice and once there she was able to experience first-hand all the wonderful things she had read about in the brochures. The family took boat trips, including a traditional Venetian gondola ride, and attended a concert featuring music written by Vivaldi, himself from Venice. Alice took the opportunity to buy herself a souvenir of Venice and the Carnival, which dates back to 1296 - a traditional mask.

“Venice is the most surreal place I have ever been to,” said Alice. “It was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of our holiday there.

“Going away has been such a nice experience. It was a great break and gave me real feeling of freedom from seeing the same four walls of the hospital for so long. Thank you Make-A-Wish for making it a truly magical week.”

Mum Hilary added: “Venice is a very colourful and happy place where we were able to really lose ourselves. It was like a dream.

“When we were in hospital day in and day out, having the trip to look forward to was the light at the end of the tunnel for us. It gave us something positive to think about and when it came around it really breathed some fresh air into our lives. Thanks so much.”

Make-A-Wish was only able to grant this wish because of the generous support of people and companies around the UK. Please help us to grant more magical wishes by making a donation today