Zoey cuts hair to bring Lacey to Disneyland after heart transplant
By Aideen O'Flaherty
A TEN-YEAR-OLD schoolgirl has gone the extra mile for her six-year-old neighbour, who recently received a heart transplant, by fundraising for the young girl to go to Disneyland Paris and donating 14 inches of her hair to the Rapunzel Foundation.
The Rapunzel Foundation, which was founded in 2010, makes wigs for children and teenagers who have alopecia.
Zoey Campion, who is a student in Clonburris National School in Clondalkin, has always let her hair grow long, and previously only ever got her hair trimmed.
Zoey was inspired to donate her long locks after watching YouTube videos of girls donating their hair to charity and seeing the difference it can make to children with hair loss, and also to raise funds for her neighbour Lacey Robinson, who recently received a heart transplant.
Speaking to The Echo, Zoey’s mother Sinead Murphy said: “I think I was more nervous about Zoey getting her hair cut than she was!
“Lacey said she couldn’t believe that Zoey was going to get her hair cut short, while Zoey was stunned that Lacey had gone through heart transplant surgery.”
In March, Zoey was in Disneyland Paris with her parents. Her next-door neighbour, Lacey, who was at home in Clondalkin recovering from her heart transplant, had seen Zoey’s holiday pictures and commented that she would like to go to Disneyland too.
Zoey then decided to fundraise for Lacey, by using sponsorship cards and collection buckets, and donating her hair to the Rapunzel Foundation, so that Lacey can go to Disneyland Paris with her parents when she has recovered from her transplant.
Zoey had 15 inches of hair measured and cut by Michelle
Lacey was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy – a weakening of the heart muscle which causes end-stage heart failure in children – in February 2017 and received a heart transplant last January.
Lacey’s mother Michelle Robinson told The Echo: “Lacey has been fantastic since the transplant, she’s back to being a happy six-year-old, full of energy and life.
“Before the transplant, she didn’t have enough energy to walk and spent most of her time in the hospital.”
Quite emotional
Michelle said that when she found out that Zoey was going to fundraise for Lacey to go to Disneyland, she found it “quite emotional, it’s such a nice thing for her to do.
“For a child to take another child’s feelings into consideration is so overwhelming, I think it shows the nature of the child and how kind-hearted she is.”
Michelle is hoping that she can get the go-ahead from the hospital to bring Lacey to Disneyland Paris this Christmas, as the young girl, who is a pupil in St Bernadette’s National School in Quarryvale, spent last Christmas in hospital.
Over €1,000 has been raised so far for Lacey to go Disneyland, so she can have a magical Christmas this year.
Zoey’s mother Sinead said: “I’m delighted, people have been brilliant and have been donating money for Lacey.
“I’m really proud of Zoey.”
There will be a collection bucket in Bookstation in the The Mill Shopping Centre, Clondalkin, throughout the summer for people who want to donate to Lacey’s Disneyland fund.
