who has suffered from leukemia
In the mirror, the girl’s cheeks were flushed. With each touch of the hand of Park Soo-jin, 31, a hair designer who was volunteering, Kim Hae-min’s hair rippled in a wave of curls. Putting on a white dress and fur mantle had turned the five-year-old girl into Princess Elsa from the animated movie “Frozen.” Keeping watch over the “Princess” were volunteers who were dressed up as maids and servants.
dances with actor Lee Woo-seong
Hae-min had leukemia. When she came down with a fever and her breathing grew rough, her parents thought it was a cold, or maybe a touch of pneumonia. But in April 2011, when she was only 19 months old, she was diagnosed with third stage malignant lymphoma, a cancer of the blood that children can contract.The lymph nodes in Hae-min‘s body swelled, pinching her organs and impeding her circulation. Through June 2013, a month before she turned four, the little girl went through twenty rounds of chemotherapy. As with any child with leukemia, all of her hair fell out.Even brushing her teeth wasn’t easy. Because of the sores in her mouth, doctors were afraid she might bleed, so they brushed them with a cotton swab dabbed with vegetable soap.It’s been a year since Hae-min’s treatments have ended, but the doctors won‘t say that she is cured until she has gone five years without the cancer coming back. Once a month she visits the hospital. Because her immune system is so weak, she can’t attend kindergarten. Instead, she stays at home with her mom and sister.“Wow, this is perfect for Hae-min. It‘s amazing!” As they watch Hae-min’s excitement, the girl‘s parents - Yoon Song-mi and Kim Min-seok, both 33 - break into a smile. Mom and Dad have followed Hae-min’s lead to become the king and queen, while her little sister Hae-seung, 3, has transformed into Princess Elsa’s little sister Anna.On the afternoon of Oct. 31, the Korea Make a Wish Foundation held the “wish day” event at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Seoul’s Gangnam district. The foundation makes dreams come true for children with chronic diseases.The foundation was established in 1980, and the first wish it granted was that of a seven-year-old American child with leukemia who wanted to be a police officer. Branches of the foundation have since been set up in 37 countries. To date, the South Korean branch of the foundation has made dreams a reality for around 2,200 children battling difficult diseases.In order to fulfill Hae-min’s dream of becoming a princess, the foundation has been writing a script and planning a party since this past summer. Twelve friends with cancer that she meets once a week at Win Day Program, an event organized by the Korean Association for Children with Leukemia, were invited to the party.The children, who had all lost their hair like Hae-min, had bandannas wrapped around their heads and masks on, but the dresses they wore turned them into princesses from foreign lands.The adults played their roles with a joyful spirit. Shin Byung-seop, 51, head of the Korean branch for Brooks Brothers, an importer of clothes and the sponsor of the event, read a story he and foundation staff had written that starred Hae-min as the main character. In the story, a dark shadow - symbolizing leukemia - clings to Princess Hae-min until Prince William rescues her by shouting that he loves her.The employees of the company became Hae-min’s servants and maids and looked after her needs. The role of Prince William was played by actor Lee Woo-seong, 34, who put glass shoes on her feet, kissed her hand, and danced with her.“Making a child‘s dream come true like this really puts a lump in my throat and makes me feel even better than if I had bought her a present,” said Jang Yong-hwi, 32, a volunteer who played the role of Lord Sebastian.During the party, Hae-min and her friends rode a pumpkin carriage made of balloons. “Thanks for coming to my party. I liked dancing the best,” Princess Hae-min said.Hae-min’s dream is also the dream of her father Kim. A tumor was found in Kim‘s brain, and he is undergoing surgery early this month.“Since Hae-min spends so much time at the hospital and her house, she isn’t able to see her friends. I think she had even more fun because she was able to spend time with her friends,” Hae-min’s parents said.“I hope that memories of today will help Hae-min’s family forget the hard times that they have gone through,” said a man named Hong, 40, the father of one of the children with cancer who came to the party.
