Charity takes siblings on holiday of a lifetime

Two children from Shropshire with a rare hereditary condition were jetted off on the holiday of a lifetime, thanks to a UK charity.

Lottie, 14, and Tommy, 11, from Shrewsbury, have Friedreich's ataxia, a disorder that affects co-ordination, balance and speech.

The charity, Dreamflight, takes children with a serious illness or disability on holiday to Orlando without their parents.

"It was the best trip... I've ever been on. You do so many fun things, and you get to make friends and stuff like that," said Lottie.

"My favourite thing on the trip, we went to Discovery Cove and we swam with dolphins and they did tricks," she told the BBC.

"They feel quite weird, they're like soft but rubbery at the same time. It was very cool."

Tommy's favourite part was going on the rollercoasters, which he said were "fast and big."

The siblings went on the trip with 190 other children, accompanied by staff and volunteers from the charity.

The trip included days out to Universal Studios, Disney's Hollywood Studios and SeaWorld.

Despite their mum not going along with them, Lottie said she enjoyed it.

"I was scared at first," she said.

"When you're there you don’t have time to think or miss...you're just happy to be there, you don’t mind not being at home."

For their mother, Rebecca, it allowed the children to be around people with similar experiences to them.

Tommy was diagnosed five years ago and is a full-time wheelchair-user, and Lottie was diagnosed three years ago.

"Sometimes you can feel quite isolated having a disability… most people they see are not in wheelchairs and don’t struggle," she said.

For them to be with 190 other people, even though they don’t have the same disability they all have similar struggles and deal with similar things in life.

"The staff and volunteers that took them, they’re all kind and empathetic, and they don’t always get that in life."

Despite being happy for her children, she joked there was pressure on her for their next family holiday.

"Tommy got to fly business class, which I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get him to do again."

He added proudly: "They gave me a whole litre of apple juice."

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