The Star: May 23, 2019

The Star Thursday May 23 2019
10
NEWS
news online at www.star.kiwi
Disneyland trip brings happy tears
• By Julia Evans
“TEAR-WORTHY, in the best
way.”
That’s how 19-year-old cancer
suffered Megan Hore described
her family’s trip to Europe to visit
Disneyland Paris.
The daughter of well-known
blind organist Richard Hore was
declared cancer-free in October
after battling bone cancer for
more than a year.
The Star has been following
Megan’s progress and helped
fundraising efforts to get to Paris,
which is part of her bucket list to
go to all the Disney parks around
the world.
Last month, she flew to France
for seven days before the travelled
to the United Kingdom for a
further three weeks.
“I cried so much it wasn’t
funny, but it was all happy tears,”
Megan said.
The Hore family stayed in
an apartment in central Paris,
explored the city and most importantly
went to Disneyland.
“We even saw Notre Dame
a week before it burnt down,”
Megan’s mother Marilyn Hore
said.
A highlight for Megan was a
visit to the famous Parisian book
shop Shakespeare and Company.
“Richard sat down and played
the piano there,” Mrs Hore said.
“Meg just enjoyed every single
solitary moment.”
FUN TIMES: The Hore family with Minnie Mouse at Disneyland Paris. Right – Amy and
Megan slept over in a library in Wales.
But if you ask Megan what her
favourite part of the trip was, she
will say just one word – Rapunzel
– her favourite Disney princess.
“It was the one thing I really
wanted to do, you can’t see her
in Hong Kong. It was like I need
to see her and I don’t care what it
takes,” she said.
“Then I turned the corner and
she was standing there and I
started bawling. Happy tears.”
It took some string-pulling by
a Disneyland worker and Mrs
Hore, but Megan finally got to
have a meet and greet with her
favourite character.
However, while Megan soaked
in every second of her time away,
it could not be described as
smooth sailing.
“Everyone’s fine and healthy
now,” Mrs Hore said.
“Except while we were in Paris
I had a fall over a Lime scooter.
It did horrible things to my ribs
and sternum . . . but I just got on
with it.”
The family then went to the UK
for three weeks.
“Meg wanted to sleep in a
library, so we did in Wales. We
saw a lot of the Dorset area, spent
time in Bath and before we left
we went on the Harry Potter studio
tour in London,” Mrs Hore
said.
“She was just in her element, it
was amazing.”
Mrs Hore said it was “amazing”
to watch her daughter, who spent
200 days in a room at Christchurch
Hospital last year, have a
great holiday.
“You spend a year in one room
and then you’re in the London
Underground to get on a train
with people all around you, it’s
very different and Meg was totally
out of her comfort zone. But
she coped with the crowds really
well,” Mrs Hore said.
“All the way through the trip,
we just thought this was Meg’s
trip and it was great seeing her
joy, you don’t know how long that
joy will last.”
However, while the holiday
was a huge success Megan has
started her next round of testing
to check and see if the cancer had
returned.
If any cells are found, her diagnosis
will become terminal.
“Testing is horrible. It’s a mental
nightmare,” Mrs Hore said.
“A lot of people think you have
treatment, you go into remission
and life goes on, but remission is
hard.”
Mrs Hore said they were all
remaining optimistic, in spite of
Megan being very anxious.
It is Megan’s first year at
university studying towards a
Bachelor of Arts in English and
Classics.
“It’s going fine. It’s just nice
spending time with people my
own age and not being in hospital
or at home,” she said.
The family has also started
thinking about their next trip –
but not for another 18 months –
for Megan’s 21st, a Disney cruise.
Seven retirement villages
in Canterbury
• Halswell • • Rangiora •
• Mairehau •
• Beckenham • • Riccarton • • Papanui • • Hornby •
www.rymanhealthcare.co.nz • 0800 000 290