Source: www.7days.ae
A seven-year-old boy who is dying from a brain tumour is set to fulfil his last wish by travelling from America to Dubai to visit the Burj Khalifa.
Noah Larkin has been infatuated with the world’s tallest building since he can remember and is determined to go up the 828m structure so he can feel “on top of the world”. His mother Amber said: “When he was four he wanted to research the tallest building in the world and his love for Dubai was born. We watched the construction of the Burj Khalifa tower on the internet. Every week we would look for new YouTube postings,” she said.
“We watched every ‘How it’s Made’ show we could. He saw the host of one going to the top, and said, ‘That’s where I need to be – the top of the world!’”
Family dream of miracle cure for dying youngster Amber added: “As we watched and researched, he not only wanted to know about the building but all of Dubai as well. ‘Mum, do you know that they have amazing architecture!’
“He researched all the other buildings, the Dubai Mall, Ski Dubai, the city, the culture and from then on, he would say, ‘Dad, when are we going to Dubai?’”
Noah and his parents are flying from Florida to the UAE on March 31 for the once-in-a-lifetime holiday, which has been funded by Dubai-based Eternity Medicine Institute. As part of the trip they will take Noah on a tour of Dubai and arrange for him to go to the viewing deck at the Burj Khalifa.
Noah was diagnosed with a stage four malignant brain tumour in October 2009. Over time, the tumour has spread to his spine, and his parents fear he has less than a year left to live.
“We thought we were going into remission last July. That didn’t happen. The cells have moved into other parts of his brain. We have been told that we will not win this battle,” Amber said.
“As his parents, we believe in miracles and we are relentlessly reasserting new-targeted treatments.”
Noah’s parents have set up Noah’s Light Foundation, to raise awareness of brain and spine tumours in children.
Visit www.noahslightfoundation.org for more details.
