Santa’s sleigh full of gifts, warm hot chocolate, gingerbread houses, jingle bells, carolers, snow and ornaments on a brightly lit tree – the Christmas season is truly magical. Children look forward to the special day all year long. The excitement of waking up and sprinting to the Christmas tree to find all the beautifully wrapped goodies underneath from jolly Santa Clause.
For twenty children in the U.K., their Christmas festivities had to be postponed. The children were too sick to enjoy the holiday during the winter, so Cancer Research UK hosted a Christmas party in July.
Agatha King was one of the lucky children to attend the festivities. “We colored in pictures of the snow globes. There were games, too, and sweets,” Agatha told InsideEdition.com. “I felt excited.”
In the winter, Agatha was in the hospital and far too sick to celebrate her Christmas. Her mom explains the hardships childhood diseases create, “You miss out on all of the things to build up to Christmas – parties, switching off the lights in the town, ice skating,” King explained. “Nobody ever expects childhood cancer to enter our lives. It’s something we never considered.”
Despite the setbacks, activities such as this one keep spirits up. Her mom said she’s extremely thankful to see her daughter have the opportunity to enjoy the holiday now, “Lots of tears were shed because it’s so nice to see them being well enough to enjoy things,” Agatha’s mother said. “It’s lovely to be with other families. They just get it; they understand what you’re going through.”
Agatha was originally diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of four. Her immune system is still extremely fragile. Her family and her brother always have to be careful with the places they go.
She wasn’t held back during her Christmas in July celebration. Agatha was able to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas and play with the other children. The kids were able to partake in tons of activities like sleigh rides and playing in the snow.
Christmas in July program coordinators planned to continue the festivities each year and said, “It’s probably the 17th year that we’ve hosted this event.”
This is great news for kids that are too sick to enjoy the holiday season in the winter fully. Children can look forward to still getting their holiday fun no matter the time of the year.
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