Boy, 5, with months to live granted wish to travel to Scotland on sleeper train

A train-obsessed five-year-old boy with less than a year to live has had his dreams come true with a surprise adventure to Scotland on the famous Caledonian Sleeper.

Everett Walton was aged just three in January 2023 when he was diagnosed with a Medulloblastoma brain tumour. In October his parents, Joseph, 38, and Karen Fan, 40, were given the heartbreaking news there were no more curative treatment options for him and he had a life expectancy of months rather than years.

The brave boy from London has been the biggest fan of trains all his life after growing up right beside Kings Cross Station. The Make-A-Wish charity stepped in with the trip of a lifetime to the try and bring magic to Everett’s childhood which has been hit by challenge after challenge.

Mum Karen said: “Everett has been bombarded with non-stop difficulties. He was diagnosed last January and then had a big operation. After this was a sequence of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. He’s missed a lot of school because of his treatment, which really impacted him because he loves school. He’s also missed out on spending time with his friends.

“On-top of this his brain tumour has affected him physically, so a lot of things that most 5-year-olds do takes him a lot more effort to do. With his Hickman line in it was restrictive as he couldn’t swim, which he loves doing. He also found dressing changes extremely distressing.

“When he was going through treatment it was hard to travel. He’s now receiving palliative care, so we hope to travel abroad in the next couple of months.”

Wee Everett couldn’t contain his excitement when he found out he would be travelling to Scotland on an overnight trip on the Caledonian sleeper train from London Euston to Fort William.

Staff made him feel extra special when he was given a private tour and even welcomed into the train drivers cabin and shown all the buttons that make the train work.

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“He has all the train toys- we can’t get enough of them! Every time we go to the hospital, we bring his train and train track toys, they’re his go-to to cheer him up!” Karen added.

“After a long period of being in hospital, we didn’t know how well he would cope going back in to school, but the teachers got out the train tracks to make him feel better.

“He’s had such a tough time – it’s been unimaginably hard for a five-year-old. There’s so little to look forward to, but his wish gave us something to get excited about.

“The train trip was so much fun! The people from the Caledonian Sleeper Train met us at the platform and gave us a private tour where he got to sit in the driver’s seat and blow the train horn! The highlight of the trip has been the incredible scenery of the highlands. Everett had the best time rolling around the hills and disrupting the peace with his excited squawking!”

Jason Suckley, CEO of Make-A-Wish UK added: “Sadly, the number of children who, like Everett, turn to Make-A-Wish UK with less a year to live is three times higher than it was in 2022.

“The demand for wishes is outpacing our best efforts to keep up so it’s taking us longer to grant wishes. But the reality is that many families simply can’t wait this long. Wishes have the power to rescue the magic of childhood, providing an escape from the grueling daily reality of ongoing treatments and endless hospital stays.”

Make-A-Wish UK is funded by the People’s Postcode Lottery with £900,000 funding helping children like Everett experience their lifelong dreams.

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