5-year old girl too medically fragile to visit Disney World with family, so big sister brings Disney to her
Kindergartner Allie Salin lives in McCracken County, Kentucky with her family. She’s five years old and, like most 5-year-olds, she loves being with her mom and sister, playing with her friends and of course, Disney.
Her family is heading to Walt Disney World next week, but Allie was born prematurely–at only 29 weeks’ gestation, and because of her premature birth, she lives with a lung condition that makes it impossible for her to join her family when they visit the Most Magical Place on Earth in just a few days.
It’s a difficult situation for Allie’s family who love her and want her to experience the magic as well. So Allie’s older sister, Kaylee Salin, who attends McCracken County High School, decided to do something about it.
Kaylee is a member of FCCLA, the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America club at her school, and since her baby sister Allie can’t go to Disney, she invited other members of the group to take part in bringing Disney to Allie. They were only to happy to help.
Kaylee and several of her peers from McCracken County High got together and made plans to dress up as some of Allie’s favorite Disney characters and surprise her and her friends with a parade and party yesterday at Reidland Elementary School, also in McCracken County.
“It makes me feel, [I] can’t describe it,” said Allie’s mom Dina Natero, who says she’s so proud of Kaylee and the effort she put into this very special surprise for Allie.
“I’m not going to cry,” Allie’s mom continued. “It’s overwhelming. The feelings are overwhelming right now; I’m very proud of [Kaylee] and the things that she does. She can take care of her sister better than a nurse can take care of her sister.”
Not only was Allie surprised by all her favorite Disney characters visiting her at school, but she was also thrilled when she was presented a Power Wheels motorized car by McCracken County Schools, all dressed up like Minnie Mouse, Allie’s most favorite Disney character of all.
All photos credit: WPSD News 6
