A girl with a serious illness that forces her to miss out on much of the fun of childhood had a dream come true when she met her idols – pop stars JLS.
Kayley Baker, 11, of Shephall in Stevenage lives with a complicated mix of stomach, muscle and bone disorders that means she has to be fed by tube for up to 22 hours a day and uses a wheelchair.
The John Henry Newman pupil, who wears a special feeding backpack to school, rarely goes a day without being sick and misses out on playing with friends and her three younger siblings Keira, Ryan and Harry.
But like any young girl she loves boy bands and particularly chart-topping X-Factor stars JLS, whose books she keeps under her pillow.
Wanting to make her dream of meeting the boys come true, Kayley’s mum Michaela wrote to wish-giving charity Rays of Sunshine who organised a special trip to meet the band in London.
The whole family were taken by limousine to the Hotel Mayfair where they met Oritse, JB and Marvin and Kayley’s favourite, Aston before being taken off for lunch at Planet Hollywood and a sightseeing tour of the capital.
Michaela, who said Kayley never complains and is always smiling, kept it a secret from her until the night before the trip.
“When we told her she couldn’t believe it,” she said. “They sang to her and the boys spent five minutes each speaking to her. She was quite star struck but she asked them questions and chatted to them. She still doesn’t think it’s real.”
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