Pride of Britain winner and leukaemia sufferer Hughie Higginson from Burnley enjoys holiday with charity Destination Florida

Hughie, from Burnley, was proud to scoop a Pride of Britain and Pride of Manchester award for his inspiring fund-raising after being diagnosed with leukaemia.

Hughie (13) was among 74 deserving children flown from Manchester to Orlando by the Eccles-based charity Destination Florida.

Children with complex and life-limiting medical conditions from the north west enjoyed the rides and attractions at the Disney and Universal theme parks and were treated to a Cirque Du Soleil show and a team-building pool party.

Destination Florida organises and fundraises the biennial magical trips for youngsters who are dealing with various medical issues every day of their lives.

The trips enable children aged six to 16 to take a trip of a lifetime with the support of medical, nursing and non-medical volunteers who deliver round-the-clock care with a mobile hospital consisting of doctors, nurses and physiotherapists.

Hughie won Pride of Britain’s Good Morning Britain Young Fundraiser of the Year and the Pride of Manchester Fundraiser of the Year awards in 2021 with his best pal Freddie Xavi after raising £300,000 as a thank you to the doctors and nurses at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

He said: “I haven’t been on holiday for three years.

“It has been unbelievable, everything about it. All of it has been really special and I’ve enjoyed making new friends. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Hughie, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in September 2020, is still having treatment and will undergo chemotherapy at Manchester Children’s Hospital until March next year.

Adult Destination Florida helpers work with the medical staff to create five ‘caring teams’ to enable one-to-one support for each child.

Caring for the children is often a full-time responsibility for their parents or guardians and the trip also allows their carers to have priceless eight days of respite whilst having the reassurance of knowing their child will have professional medical care.

Dr Adam Nicholls, consultant in paediatric intensive care at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, is the medical lead on the trip, which flew out from Manchester last Friday.

He said: “This trip has been amazing. It is our first one since Covid and our youngest child on the trip is just seven.

“To see the children come out of themselves is brilliant. Any shyness goes out of the window by the end of the week.”

Destination Disney was created by Dr David Evans and Sister Alex Shaw, inspired by when a group of northern-based children were nominated to go on a trip to Florida through a London-based charity, but were not selected.

Lead nurse Deborah McKenna, who works for Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It’s extremely rewarding, seeing how shy and quiet the children are to start with. We’ll be crying buckets when it comes the time to say goodbye.

“We have children on the trip who have had bowels removed, transplants, chemotherapy and we have one young man who can’t see so we describe everything to him. Some children have life-limiting conditions and need nebulisers and oxygen.

“We’re in touch with all the parents to let them know how they’re getting on and send photos.”