The Dream Factory is all about fulfilling Wishes and Dreams for children and young adults who are having a tough time as a result of their illnesses or disability and we know that all of the people we help will have fond memories of their special event or gift.
To help retain those memories our Dream Catcher works with the young person, their family and ourselves to create a record of their Dream. This record, which can be a book or a film, is presented to the family shortly after their Wish has been granted as a lasting memory of a happy time.
These are some of the recent Wishes we have been fortunate enough to fulfill:
Photographs have been used with the kind permission of the people involved.
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Dominic's Dream
Dominic is 14 and lives in St. Albans. He has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy which means that he is confined to a wheel chair. Dominic Dreamt of meeting his favourite Disney characters so back in December The Dream Factory arranged for him and his family to go to Euro Disney. Here are some photos of him and his family enjoying themselves.
The expression on his face in the first photo arriving at the park makes everything worthwhile!
There are more pictures here.
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James's Dream
James is four and suffers from a rare syndrome that makes his life really difficult. Amongst other problems, James is unable to speak, but he is learning to sign and is really starting to communicate.
The medical people who look after him and his family thought that some toys and games that were specifically designed to assist in the development of communication skills would be a big benefit.
Our friends at local firm Haslers (www.haslers.com) got to hear about this and offered to sponsor James' visit to The Early Learning Centre.
James had a great time making his choices and hopefully not only will he enjoy playing with his new stuff, he'll also benefit from his play.
Very grateful thanks to the staff and management at Haslers and to the team at The Early Learning Centre, Lakeside.
Here are some photos of James in the shop.
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Nathan's Dream
12 years old Nathan is currently in remission from leukemia but unfortunately he has a bunch of other serious health problems.
He Wished for a big pile of Transformer toys and The Dream Factory made this Wish come true.
There are more pictures of Nathan with some of his family here.
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Freddies Dream
Freddie has just had his fifth birthday.
He suffers from cerebral palsy and epilepsy and is confined to a wheelchair.
Freddie Dreamt of going round a giant toy store and picking out some things that he liked and The Dream Factory made it happen.
Here is Freddie looking very happy with The Dream Factory volunteers, Annabel and Martin at The Disney Store in Lakeside with several big bags of new toys.
There are more pictures of Freddie here.
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Jamal's Dream
Nine years old Jamal lives in Poplar. He's had sickle cell anemia and has had a stroke.
He really wanted a Nintendo DSI and a Nike “Just Do It Bag” (what a great attitude!)
Well The Dream Factory made this Wish come true.
Here's a picture of Jamal with his gifts.
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Lighting up Cameron's Life
5 years old Cameron from Ashton under Lyne has a serious brain tumour and a pretty poor quality of life. His mum, Kimberley, contacted us and Wished for some sensory equipment for his bedroom that would help to stimulate him and keep him amused.
This is very specialist equipment but fortunately one of our volunteers has some experience in this area and the necessary contacts to enable us to make it happen.
And it appears to have made a difference! Here is a text message that we got from Kimberley the following day:
Thank you so much for everything you did yesterday, Cameron loves his room, as do I.
He slept like an angel last night without his medication.
He must have been so relaxed after falling asleep watching the lights,
it is going to make such a big difference to our lives, thank you so much love Kimberley.
To see some photos of Cameron with his lights click here.
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REBECCA MEETS A LION CUB!
17 year old Rebecca has cystic fibrosis. This means a tough daily routine of physiotherapy, medication and nebulizers just to keep her life on an even keel. Rebecca Dreamt of being able to touch a lion cub.
With the help of our friends at the Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire The Dream Factory was able to arrange that and more! Rebecca and her family had a lovely day at the Park and her Dream produced some of the most delightful photos of any of the Dreams we have fulfilled to date. See some of the photos here.
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EMMA HAS TEA AT THE RITZ!
Twenty one year old Emma from North Weald has Downs Syndrome. Through a chance meeting we found out that she Wished to go and have tea at The Ritz Hotel in London.
The Dream Factory not only arranged for that to happen but also organised a bright pink limousine to take Emma and her family to the treat.
This is what Emma?s mum had to say about it when a local news paper asked her about the event.
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REECE MEETS ARSENAL STARS
Nine year old Reece lives in Grays. He has Cerebral Palsy and has to be in a wheel chair. Reece is a very keen Arsenal fan and he had a Dream of watching an Arsenal training session and maybe meeting one or two of the players.
The Dream Factory helped make Reece?s Dream come true! We?re very grateful to the people at Arsenal Football Club for allowing this great experience for Reece and to the players and staff who were so kind to him on the day. To see pictures of Reece with Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie click here.
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A LOG CABIN IN THE GARDEN!!
This must be one of our most unlikely Dreams so far! 13 year old Mason lives in Harlow. He has cystic fibrosis. Mason dreamt of having his own space where he could play his games and hang out with his friends. The Dream Factory provided a Log Cabin in the garden of his house.
Mason and his mum worked hard to clear the space and we are incredibly grateful to Graham Wilson and his team at Bonnies Oak Garden Centre in Roydon. These lovely people not only gave us a great deal on the cabin but also arranged for the base to be built and the cabin to be put up.
Our old friends at South Eastern Electrical ensured that Mason has electricity to run his game console and keep warm in the winter.
A Log Cabin in Harlow! who would have dreamt of it? Well Mason did and you can see the pictures here.
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Isaac has spent most of his life in hospital and even his bedroom has to look a bit like a hospital theatre. Read about his Dream here
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Bailey is a regular visitor to Great Ormond Street Hospital as she suffers from a rare syndrome that effects several different parts of her body. Bailey Wished for a Bratz Birthday party for her family and friends.
The Dream Factory organised her party at the end of February at a hall in Epping and were very pleased to also present her a with TV and DVD player together with lots of Bratz bits and pieces and an enormous number of balloons!
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Young Pedro has been pretty ill since he was 2 years old and is now facing some new challenges. He Wished to go with his family to Euro Disney. The weather wasn't good but they all had a great time. See the pictures, and the lovely letter we got from his mum. Find out more
To fly in a helicopter and visit a Recording Studio were Isaac's Dreams and The Dream Factory made it happen. Read more about Isaac and his Dream day out.
It's not everybody's idea of a good day, but Joshua wanted to see some sharks! The Dream Factory made his Wish come True. Find out more
George is mad about cars and particularly likes the TV programme Top Gear. The Dream Factory arranged for him to visit the studio and meet Jeremy Clarkson. Find out more
Gary, who is 17, has cancer but is trying o keep up with his studies. Our kind friends at The Ilford Mall helped him out. Find out more
Fourteen year old Elaine has been very ill. The Dream Factory provided her with a lovely surprise. Find out more
Isabella dreamt of having her own pony that she could ride despite her serious illnesses and difficulties. The Dream Factory made it happen. Find out more
Jack's granddad used to play for West Ham and he wanted to meet some of the players and, perhaps go to see them play. To find out about Jack's outing to Upton Park click here.
Billy wanted to meet Winnie the Pooh. He was too ill to travel so Winnie the Pooh and friends went to see him! Read about the Winnie the Pooh tea party.
To see the capital from The London Eye was the Wish of Dottie. The Dream Factory made this Wish come true. Read about her great day out.
The first Wish that The Dream Factory made come true was for young Baboucarr who wished for a laptop computer to help his studies (and to play games!). To find out more about Baboucarr and his Wish Click Here.
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