Cinderella taught all girls that dreams really do come true.
For 14 girls battling catastrophic illnesses, a dream became a reality on Thursday when “Disney on Ice Presents Princess Wishes” visited the Ronald McDonald House of Baltimore.
The girls, ranging in ages from 20 months to 21 years, were treated to an authentic tea party, complete with a beautiful china-set table and pastries and cookies from Patisserie Poupon.
“Any time a child battling an illness is momentarily disconnected from that illness, it becomes a treasured moment of splendor,” Ronald McDonald House Executive Director Marianne Rowan-Braun said. “The girls were completely removed from the reason they are here.”
The girls made tiaras fit for the prettiest princess with “Disney on Ice” skaters and posed with Cinderella for photos. They drank sweet tea and munched on cookies and chocolate-covered pastries while their teary-eyed mothers looked on.
“The most cherished moments were the girls? sparkling eyes and broad smiles when Cinderella walked into the room,” Rowan-Braun said. “The most joyous memory for the moms was when the little girls sipped their first cup of tea.”
The party was attended by girls from every corner of the United States with various stages of illness, including chronic and potentially fatal diseases. They are residing at the Ronald McDonald House while undergoing treatment not available in their areas.
The Ronald McDonald House provides ill children and their families a place to live and funds programs in Maryland that directly improve the well-being of children.
“The Ronald McDonald House creates moments of splendor that parents hold on to even when they leave us without their child,” Rowan-Braun said.
