'It's all just unreal': Portsmouth girl, 8, gets Disney wish after facing cancer battle

PORTSMOUTH — Approximately 300 Dondero School students piled into the elementary school gymnasium Friday, singing and dancing to their favorite Disney songs. Led by music teacher Abby Keller, the children stomped their feet to tunes from "Frozen," "Mulan" and "The Jungle Book." In the center of the crowd was Sammy LeClair, an 8-year-old girl dressed in a tiara, earrings and blue Jasmine costume.

Sammy was being honored as the recipient of a Make-A-Wish Foundation gift: a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando. She recently was told by doctors she is in remission and cancer free, her family said, following a cancer diagnosis the night before she was set to start first grade in 2021. After complaints that summer of a stomach ache, which originally were diagnosed as a urinary tract infection, Sammy's parents, Alex and Sara, said they were persistent in advocating for their daughter. After further testing at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, a tumor was found, they said.

Sammy was diagnosed with Stage 3 Wilms tumor, a kidney cancer that was rapidly spreading to her internal organs. The then 6-year-old was treated at Boston Children's Hospital for a year of chemotherapy and 11 days of radiation first to shrink the seven-inch tumor, according to her family. During treatment, Sammy endured many complications which sent her and her family to the emergency room and hospital multiple times. After treatment was finished, Sammy underwent a nine-hour surgery to remove the cancerous tumor. In addition to removing the tumor, parts of her liver, her kidney, her adrenal glands and her diaphragm were also removed, they said.

Manuela LeClair, Sammy's grandmother, described this as difficult. Manuela lives in Germany and during Sammy's treatment, travel restrictions from COVID prevented her from seeing her granddaughter. Alex and Sara LeClair moved to the United States eight years ago, when Sammy was 11 months old.

"There was never a day without her smiling, even during chemotherapy," said Sara LeClair. "She has so much energy and is doing great. She is excited to be a normal, happy little girl again."

Sammy always had a love for Disney, citing "Tangled" in the heavy rotation of movies she would watch during treatment. According to her father, Sammy related to the Rapunzel character's long blonde hair. In the movie, Rapunzel's hair gets chopped and turns brown, a similar experience Sammy felt when she lost her hair during treatment. Now, Sammy's hair is growing back in a dark brown.

Here only wish was to go to Disney with her family and swim with the dolphins. On Friday, her wish came true. After receiving a visit from a myriad of princesses, a curtain in the gymnasium revealed a table of gifts, signs, posters, decorations and her parents and grandmother dressed in Disney merchandise. The LeClair family will fly to Orlando, where they will be greeted with an ice cream breakfast, trips to the castles and a swim with dolphins.

"We are just so happy she gets her wish granted ... its all just unreal," said Sara LeClair.

Sammy had her last round of chemotherapy in August, according to her parents. Alex added, "She's a fighter. We take it step by step. That's all you can do."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Dondero School in Portsmouth NH celebrates Disney wish come true