Making rainbows for 'Make-A-Wish'

A remarkable youngster from Ashton who is fighting brain cancer has been using his artistic talents - in a bid to raise cash for other children to have their ‘wishes’ granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

Luca Feno-McBride is five years old and lives in Ashton with his Mum Carla with his little brother Rocco. 

But last year, after noticing Luca was a little “off balance”, his parents took him to Tameside hospital, where they found a 3.2cm tumour on his brain – resulting in a gruelling 8-hour brain surgery to remove what they could. 

His Mum, Carla, says it was the “darkest time of her life” and although the operation went well, Luca required further treatment. 

The family travelled to Germany in June last year for him to complete radiotherapy, before returning home to start a full course of chemotherapy. 

“He needed 6 weeks of radiotherapy to the brain and his spine, and then nine months of chemotherapy, which will hopefully end in June this year,” she explained, praising the hard work of Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and the NHS who funded the trip. 

Luca is a huge Disney fan – with a love for all things ‘Toy Story’ – and was granted the “wish of a lifetime” by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, who creates life-changing experiences for children with critical illnesses. 

Carla said: “He’s been granted a wish to go to Disneyworld Florida in November… I have been fundraising for this amazing charity ever since we were granted our wish and had a Skydive booked for 18th April – but that has had to be postponed. With what’s currently happening we’re unsure at the moment if our wish will go ahead, despite it being booked. 

“Also there are 2,000 poorly children waiting for wishes that have been cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19 and sadly, for some time won’t be on their side.” 

This has made the family even more determined to raise money for the cause, with Luca deciding to sell off rainbow pictures in the hopes more children will be able to have their wishes granted.

It’s a huge feat for Luca, who lost the use of his right side following surgery and has persevered with physiotherapy to learn to walk and write again. 

“Luca is the most amazing, resilient, funny, happy, caring little boy and big brother to Rocco, who is non-verbal autistic, and his needs. 

“I owe everything to Luca because without him I wouldn't have found the strength to take on this battle with him. He is my absolute hero.” 

The fundraiser now stands at an amazing £3,950 – if you’d like to donate to the cause, you can visit the family’s JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Carla-Feno?utm_source=whatsapp&fbclid=IwAR3oWb-j-0qsvr3KTeAfWH57IL4hOubo5nSpLwYMjTLyVqPlXIvfFHqm1gA