Swimming with Dolphins – A Dream Come True!
In February 2023 our daughter Ada, who was just five years old at the time was devastatingly diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (a type of blood cancer) after only a few short weeks of mild cold symptoms, quickly followed by unexplained bruising that we felt just didn’t seem right.
Her little brother was only seven weeks old at the time, so not only were we adjusting to life as new parents again, but our whole world was suddenly turned upside down as we faced a frightening and uncertain new reality with our precious little girl.
What followed were two years and one month of intense frontline and maintenance chemotherapy treatment, countless hospital visits, admissions and many long days spent isolated from school, friends, family and ‘normal’ life.
Through it all, Ada showed more bravery, strength and resilience than we ever thought possible and in March 2025, she proudly rang the end-of-treatment bell at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. A moment filled with so much emotion, relief, pride and hope for the future.
To celebrate Ada reaching her ‘1 year post treatment’ milestone and after finally receiving the go-ahead to travel again, we were heading on a once-in-a-lifetime family trip to Disney World, Florida! This is something we had dreamed about during the hardest days of treatment.
When I contacted EvesTrust to see whether Ada might be eligible for a special experience while we were away, we were kindly introduced to our Dreams Coordinator, Baileigh-Jade. What we found the charity did amazingly was, the moment Baileigh-Jade came to our home to meet us to learn more about Ada and her wishes, it truly felt like we had known her for years! The charity was so friendly, caring and genuinely invested in making sure Ada would have a tailored special experience. Baileigh showed thet like a real life angels!
Ada’s biggest wish while in Florida was to swim with dolphins at Discovery Cove and thanks to Eve’s Trust her dream came true! Evestrust booked everything and whilst waiting for the dream, Christmas arrived and Evestrust also hand delivered big bags of presents for both Ada and her little brother Albie, Evestrust & Baileigh had remembered things both children liked and made sure those presents were included in what was donated to them very kindly by Doncaster Rovers & C Ray Civils.
Finally in April 2026 it was time to go to Florida!!
Watching Ada’s face light up as she swam with her dad and Maria the dolphin, is a memory we will treasure forever. We also snorkelled in the Grand Reef alongside stingrays, saw flamingos and parrots, swam in the lagoons, enjoyed delicious all-inclusive food and spent the entire day making the happiest memories together as a family.
After everything Ada has been through, seeing her smile and carefree means more to us than words could ever say. She was absolutely bursting with excitement before swimming with the dolphins and couldn’t wait to show everybody her photos with Maria when we came home.
As if that wasn’t already enough, Evestrust also arranged a surprise experience for Ada and me (Mum) to enjoy together too! A safari experience at Busch Gardens where we got to hand feed giraffes as they approached the safari truck we were on. Ada absolutely adores animals, so being able to see them up close and experience this was incredibly special for her. She even braved the big rollercoasters too! It was the perfect ending to such an unforgettable trip.
Whilst in Florida we also thought we would make it that bit more special for us as a family and Eloped at the Osceola County Courthouse, it was the cherry on top of the most special celebrations!
After some incredibly difficult years as a family having these better days together means everything to us and we truly cannot thank Eve’s Trust and Baileigh-Jade enough for their kindness, joy, and happiness they brought to our family.
The memories they helped create will stay with us forever and we will always be so grateful for everything they do for families like ours.
Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts. The Rumney family❤️
