A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy who is fighting cancer is counting down the days until he flies to Disneyland in the US for a magical holiday with his family.

Blaise Etheridge-Clarke underwent major surgery last year to remove part of a brain tumour and has just finished a 12-month course of exhausting chemotherapy treatment. To give him a goal to aim for, members of the community launched a fundraising appeal in April to send Blaise, his three brothers, Christian, Zach and Jerome, and their parents, Theresa and Tony, on a dream holiday they will never forget.

Less than a year later, more than £14,000 has been raised for the trip and, depending on Blaise’s health, the family will fly to Florida in March.

Theresa, a nurse, said: “It’s all we ever talk about, going to Disneyland. Blaise keeps saying he is going to see Buzz and Woody and Mickey Mouse.

“We have made a calendar and he is crossing off the days until we go. It is such a struggle and we’ve been feeling so low, it’s great to have something to look forward to.

“We still don’t know how long Blaise has got, but for now we just make the most of every day and going to Disneyland is part of making memories with him.

“This may be the only holiday Blaise has, so we want to make it the holiday of a lifetime. The fact people have wanted to help is just amazing. We just don’t know how to say thank you to all these people who have worked so hard to raise the money to get us to Disneyland.”

One of the fundraisers was Rebecca Robertson, who took part in the Pickering and Moors 10k Run, raising £1,000 in sponsorship.

Members of Southlands Guides, pupils at St Wilfrid’s RC Primary School in Monkgate, and staff at the Castle Howard Ox, in Townend Street, have also helped to the boost the kitty with various fundraising events.

Theresa said: “Everybody has just got on board and it’s been overwhelming how many people have wanted to raise money for us. Blaise has lost his hearing through chemo and we’re waiting for kidney functions tests because chemo damages them as well, but the way I feel is that if he is alive, we can live with anything else.”

Blaise was recently crowned Child Of The Year in The Press’s 2010 Community Pride Awards, after being nominated by his mum for being so brave despite coping with constant pain and lengthy stays in hospital.

He is now waiting for the results of an MRI scan to see whether the chemotherapy was successful.