Disney dream comes true

A severely disabled Staffordshire girl is to be taken on a dream holiday to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

National children's charity Caudwell Children will be taking eight-year-old Georgia Cotton and her family to the Florida theme park for seven days as part of their annual Destination Dreams campaign.

Georgia has a complex combination of medical conditions including severe epilepsy, developmental delay and learning difficulties, requiring 24-hour care from parents Tracy and Paul.

Her needs mean that throughout the night Georgia stops breathing every six to seven minutes and therefore has to stay on a Apnea monitor – an alarm system that notifies her parents, if her body does not rectify itself and she stops breathing for more then 20 seconds, then needs to be resuscitated. She has recently started to do this during the day too and the family are hoping to secure equipment that aids Georgia's lungs and respiratory system.

Mrs Cotton said: "It will be the most wonderful and magical experience that we will have in our lifetime. Knowing that we have all the paramedics there with us on the trip gives you the extra confidence and peace of mind about going so far away from home.

"It will be a lovely experience with lots of stimulation for Georgia and she will get to meet all the Disney characters whilst being amongst and interacting with other children." The youngster has often had prolonged admissions to hospital and this added to her weakness. But now her dreams are to come true as the charity has accepted her application to join a group of 40 families to the Disney resort in December.

The trip is specifically designed for children with a high medical dependency, which often makes any travel impossible.

A team of charity staff, volunteers, paramedics and doctors will assist the family on the trip to ensure the family have a respite from the stresses of constant care, create some happy memories of being together and potentially aid Georgia's health.

All those attending the trip will be accommodated at a unique resort, Give Kids the World. The Village is a 70-acre resort complete with over 100 Villa accommodations, entertainment attractions, whimsical venues, and fun specifically designed for children with special needs. A child can only attend the resort once in their lifetime.

Georgia, from Stoke-on-Trent, was introduced to the charity eight years ago when the family were making frequent trips to and from the hospital to check the youngster's oxygen levels. A portable saturation monitor funded by the charity, meant the family were able to check and monitor Georgia's condition efficiently at home.

Following this the charity helped support the youngster with an adjustable bed allowing her to sleep comfortably throughout the night and be easily manoeuvred to help improve Georgia's breathing and position.

Caudwell Children, set up by formermobile phone magnate John Caudwell, has donated more than £7 million so far#.