Disneyland fundraiser for Hassocks girl losing her sight makes more than £6,000

The GoFundMe page was started by Amy Hickman, also from Hassocks, at www.gofundme.com/f/megs-disney-wish to help schoolgirl Meg Boyd get to Disneyland Paris.

Meg was born with WAGR syndrome, a rare genetic condition, and is severely visually impaired. She also has Aniridia, which means she has no irises, is photophobic and has glaucoma as well.

Amy said that Meg had told her that one of her biggest wishes is to get to Disneyland before she loses her sight completely.

“This really touched my heart,” said Amy, who was amazed to see her online campaign raise thousands of pounds after just a few days.

She said: “Meg is such a lovely girl, inspirational, so courageous and always willing to give whatever is thrown at her a go. She really does deserve this wish and I’m so happy and proud that we have managed to fulfil it.”

She added that people have been ‘extremely generous’, saying: “I cannot express how amazing so many people have been to donate towards Meg’s dream.”

Meg’s mum Jen, who is a teacher at St Lawrence C of E Primary School in Hurstpierpoint, said: “It’s absolutely amazing. We are very overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and we just thought it was the nicest thing Amy could have ever done.”

She said the amount raised came as ‘a massive shock’, adding that it was ‘phenomenal’ when the fundraiser made £4,000 in 24 hours.

Jen said she and her husband Jamie became friends with Amy because their daughters are friends with each other.

Jen explained that Meg’s conditions mean her daughter will inevitably lose her sight. She said: “We weren’t expecting it to happen quite so quickly but after our visit to Moorfields Eye Hospital last week it’s becoming obvious that it’s going to happen quicker than we thought. We just don’t know when.”

She added: “I want to say a huge heartfelt thank you to everybody that’s donated or shared the information.”