The mother of a young girl with a genetic condition that causes tumours to grow along her nerves says Make-A-Wish gave her “the time of her life” with a special Disney party in the UK.

Six-year-old Isabelle Leamy was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) at a young age and has been receiving constant medical attention ever since.

After her diagnosis, doctors also found a low-grade glioma tumour on her brain stem and she underwent two years of chemotherapy to stop it from growing.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, her mother Cliona said Isabelle now gets regular MRIs to check that the tumour is stable – but has recently started school and is doing great.

"She just wants to be on the go"

“She loves it,” she said. “She’s very social – she loves her teacher, loves her classmates and has an SNA who is amazing with her and yeah, she loves it – she is great.

She described Isabelle as a “very social animal” who loves to be out and about whenever she can.

“She loves to be out playing with her friends and her dolls,” she said. “She’s very, very social; just wants to be on the go the whole time.

“She’s a bit like her mammy really, she wants to be out and about doing things.”

Six-year-old Isabelle Leamy at her dream Disney party with Make-A-Wish

Cliona said Isabelle had no idea what was coming when Make-A-Wish made contact.

“The whole family went,” she said. “Myself, my husband, my son Ben and Issy who is six.

“I didn’t really know what we were going to – everyone kept saying, ‘what is it, what is it’ and I was like, ‘I don’t really know.’

“We kept getting things in the post – sort of, ‘Four weeks to go’ and it was Micky Mouse and a signed autograph – so it was building up the excitement in the kids.”

The Leamy Family with Minnie Mouse. Image: Make-A-Wish/Supplied

In the end, Isabelle had the “time of her life” and the experience was just as magical for Ben – who has also had a very tough time since his sister’s diagnosis.

“About ten families from Ireland went,” she said. “We flew over and it was like a big manor converted into Disneyland, which was amazing.

“It was accessible for all the children because, obviously, I had never brought her to Disneyland and could never think of that because it would be way too much for her physically.

“This was perfect because it was all in the one hotel. They brought all the characters over from Paris and America so it was the real characters.”

"Spoiled rotten"

Cliona said all the characters were just as good with Ben as they were with Isabelle.

“They spoiled him rotten,” she said. “Anything she got, he got.

“They went out of their way to make him as special as she has always been treated, because she is a little bit special; she is always used to being the centre of attention.

“Ben really got the benefit of it I thought.”

Wish Day

Newstalk has joined forces with Make-A-Wish Ireland for the charity’s annual ‘Wish Week’ fundraising campaign.

Today marks Wish Day – the culmination of the week and the most important day in the charity’s fundraising calendar.

It's now easier than ever to donate to Make-A-Wish Ireland.

• You can donate online at ie/donate.
• You can donate €4 by texting MYWISH to 50300 (Make-A-Wish will receive a minimum of €3.60)
• You can call Make-A-Wish on 01-2052007 to donate by phone.
• Bucket collections take place in shopping centres nationwide.

You can also show your support for the charity by drawing a star on your social media profile picture and donating by text.