Seriously ill Milton Keynes girl, 6, gets trip to meet Santa Claus

Polly Barclay, 6, recently had her dearest wish to meet the real Father Christmas in Lapland granted by Starlight Children’s Foundation, the UK’s leading wish granting charity for children and young people with serious and terminal illness.

Polly was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in the summer of 2014.

ALL, is a cancer of the white blood cells and those with ALL often feel exhausted and struggle to fight off infections, this is caused by too many abnormal white blood cells and not enough normal white cells, red cells and platelets.

Despite having undergone invasive chemotherapy, Polly is an energetic, lively little girl who loves Playmobil and Scooby Doo! Polly adores animals and is hoping to grow up to be a vet, or to work in a pet shop.

Polly is never happier than at Christmas time, and she loves playing in the snow with her older sister Eva.

So, when Polly was referred to Starlight for a wish, she knew exactly what she would choose, to meet Father Christmas in Lapland.

Each year Starlight sends a group of families on a festive trip to Luosto, a traditional Finnish resort that offers a magical Lapland experience.

Polly and her family joined Starlight’s tenth annual trip in their quest to meet Santa.

Polly couldn’t believe it when she heard that Starlight would be making her wish come true.

With her mum, Joanne, dad, John and sister, Eva, she spent a perfect four days in Lapland, where they enjoyed a breathtaking ride through the forest on a sleigh pulled by a team of huskies, rode on snowmobiles, met the reindeer and, of course, Mr. Claus and his elves.

The family drank warming cups of berry juice around the campfire, made snowmen, had snowball fights and went sledging.

By granting Polly’s wish, Starlight brought some much-needed fun, laughter and happy memories to Polly and her family just in time for Christmas.

On their return, Joanne said, “Everything was magical, fun and full of joy. We loved every single second. This trip has been an amazing start to this cancer free Christmas- thank you Starlight.”