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Terminally Ill 5-Year-Old Girl "Marries" Her BFF In Fairy Tale Ceremony

Gail Paterson has had to come to terms with the absolute worst news any parent could ever receive; her 5-year-old daughter is dying. Little Eileidh Paterson was first diagnosed with neurblastoma in 2014, a childhood cancer that attacks the nervous system, and doctors just gave her mother the news that she will not survive. Paterson wants to make sure her daughter's remaining time is full of magic, and to that end she threw a magical "wedding" for her terminally ill daughter.

Ever since the family got the news that Eileidh's neuroblastoma was not treatable, her mother has been filling her world with magical experiences. She has been swimming with mermaids, visited Disneyland... and now, she has "married" her very best friend in a fairytale wedding in Aberdeen, Scotland. Eileidh and 6-year-old Harrison Grier stood up together at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Center and vowed to be "friends forever" in front of about 30 family members and friends. Also Iron Man, Batman, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Wonder Woman, because adding princesses and superheros is really the way to make any wedding special. Not that this wedding needed any help to be extra special, of course. The bride wore a pink dress and veil and just about the biggest smile you've ever seen. She walked down the aisle to "When You Wish Upon A Star" escorted by her older brother Callum. The groom was handsome in a traditional kilt and gave the bride one of his mother's rings.

The two were followed to the altar by a contingent of superheros and fairy princesses. It was a day full of magic, love, kindness, and wonder. And candy floss, the bride and groom's chosen treat to seal the deal.

The big celebration nearly didn't happen at all; Paterson told news.com that Eileidh had just gone through a bout of blood transfusions and was feeling low. Happily, the magic of the day brought her spirits up.

She was just extremely drained, but she was like a different girl during the ceremony. The spectacle of it really perked her up, she was in her absolute element getting to play with other kids and have fun. These are going to be lasting memories.

Now that the "wedding" is over, Gail Paterson continues to work on her daughter's bucket list which includes, according to her mother's Facebook post:

  • Marry Harrison (check)
  • Hand casting made
  • Swim with mermaids (check)
  • Swim with dolphins
  • Meet Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus)
  • Play on a beach
  • Water park
  • See real snow for the first time
  • Go to school
  • Bedroom makeover (organized)
  • Short breaks/holidays (especially involving aeroplanes)\
  • Blackpool illuminations
  • London Eye
  • Zookeeper for a day
  • Play equipment, swing and chute for garden (check)
  • Disneyland

To donate to Eileidh's bucket list, visit her Go Fund Me page.

As her mother wrote on the Go Fund Me campaign:

We want the remaining time with Eileidh to be as special as possible & allow her to experience as many things as she can. Eileidh deserves to have the world & if we can give her a fraction of that, then we will. Please help us to create as many memories & allow her to enjoy as 'normal' a childhood as she can.

Gail Paterson's aim might have been to give her daughter a normal childhood... but along the way to normal she has managed to create a world that is truly extraordinary.