Prince Harry has reunited with a terminally ill boy called Ollie, after the pair met last year and created a ‘magical’ bond.
Ollie Carroll is just 6-years-old and suffers from Late Infantile Battens Disease, which has drastically decreased his ability to walk and talk.
Last October, Ollie, from Poynton, Cheshire, was honoured at the WellChild Awards. Receiving his award in the inspirational child category, Ollie made headlines when he valiantly stood up – despite his illness – to hug Prince Harry.
Months down the line, Prince Harry made a surprise trip to Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Ollie is being treated, alongside his 3-year-old sister, Amelia, who also was diagnosed with Battens.
In a Facebook post on the Ollie’s Army awareness-raising campaign page, his mother, Lucy and dad, Mike, shared the story of the heart-warming reunion.
Lucy wrote:
For an hour Prince Harry sat with us talking and playing with our children, laughing and making memories. The very thing our children want the most in life, to be happy and having fun.
Lucy continued, thanking the Royal for his continued support:
We feel so much pride knowing that Ollie and Amelia are touching the life’s of the people they meet, with their love and their strength.
The love, the support and the laughter within that treatment room on Tuesday will stay with us forever.
From the bottom of our hearts we thank Prince Harry for his support, his time and his kindness towards our family and our journey with Batten Disease.
Ollie and his family have dedicated their lives to raising awareness for Battens and the devastating effect the disease has on its young victims.
They have had a little help along the way from famous faces, like Prince Harry and Ed Sheeran.
The fundraising efforts of Ollie’s Army are ongoing, and the Carroll family hopes to raise enough to fund new research into treatment for Ollie and Amelia, and other children like them.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.