The parents of a terminally ill boy, once cradled by Prince Harry during a hospital visit, have released moving footage of his reaction to an Ed Sheeran song.
Ollie Carroll’s plight became headline news and touched the nation earlier this year in May when a striking image emerged of the six-year-old being hugged by the Prince.
The pair first met at a prestigious awards ceremony in October 2016, where Ollie scooped the gong for the inspirational child category.
Heartbreaking new footage has now been posted online of the boy shedding a tear as he listened to Sheeran’s new tune ‘Perfect’ which is currently the UK’s Christmas number one song.
Ollie, of Poynton, Cheshire, was undergoing a brain infusion at Great Ormond Street Hospital for his rare genetic condition when the touching video was taken.
He and his four-year-old sister Amelia suffer from Battens disease, which has no cure. Their condition means the siblings are unlikely to live past the age of 12.
Ollie, a massive fan of Sheeran, is no longer able to sing along to his favourite songs as the fatal disease has robbed him of his ability to speak.
Heartbreaking new footage has been posted online of Ollie Carroll shedding a tear as he listened to Ed Sheeran’s new tune ‘Perfect’, the UK Christmas Number One
He was able to meet the British superstar, who has more than 20 million followers on Twitter, when they cuddled backstage at Sheeran’s concert in Manchester in April.
His mother, Lucy, posted the emotional clip on Ollie’s Facebook page, called ‘Ollie’s Army Battling Against Battens’, which has 17,000 ‘likes’.
She told MirrorOnline: ‘It was very emotional. Ollie really responds to music. We often play Ed Sheeran songs for him.’
Ollie’s aunt, Emily, wrote on Facebook: ‘Ollie’s mummy sent me this video of Ollie at Great Ormond Street today having his infusion.
‘Please watch carefully what Ollie experiences in this video. Music impacts Ollie so much (he especially loves Ed).
‘The fact Ollie responds to music lets us know that Ollie is aware of what is going on around him and a part of us believes he can still understand the words in the lyrics.’
She added: ‘I hope this video touches your heart. It breaks ours. We are sure Ollie knows he has his Army and that lots of people care about him.
‘Ollie’s Army helps him experience new things and we know that Ollie responds to these. Please continue to support Ollie’s Army for this brave little boy & his sister xx.’
Supporters of the cause reacted with emotions. One user wrote: ‘Bless him. That little tear broke my heart.’
Another said the ‘gorgeous’ boy’s tear also broke her heart, while a third described the clip as ‘touching’ and revealed it made her ‘tear up’.
Ollie’s plight touched the nation in 2016 when a striking image emerged of the six-year-old being hugged by the Prince – dubbed his ‘Diana moment’
Ollie, a fan of Sheeran, is no longer able to sing along to his favourite songs as the fatal disease has robbed him of his ability to speak
Prince Harry paid an emotional surprise visit to see Ollie in May after they met at the 2016 WellChild Awards, where he won the inspirational child category
He and his four-year-old sister Amelia (pictured with Prince Harry) suffer from Battens disease, which has no cure. Their condition means the siblings are unlikely to live past the age of 12
PRINCE HARRY’S ‘DIANA MOMENT’
Prince Harry paid an emotional surprise visit to see Ollie in May after they met at the 2016 WellChild Awards, where he won the inspirational child category.
The 33-year-old Prince hugged him in the image which was reminiscent of a famous photograph of his mother, Princess Diana, embracing a young cancer sufferer.
The photograph of him hugging the Prince, who proposed to American actress Meghan Markle in November, at the event went viral and was seen by millions.
During the surprise visit, Harry also saw Ollie’s three-year-old sister Amelia when the pair received treatment at the Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Prince Harry spent one hour with family, including Ollie’s father Mike and mother Lucy. He spent an hour ‘talking, playing, laughing and making memories’.
The surprise meeting came just weeks after Ollie met his idol, singer-songwriter Sheeran, before his gig in Manchester.
The pop star, 26, then took to the stage wearing a red band promoting Ollie’s Army , a campaign which aims to spread awareness of the rare disease.
The 33-year-old Prince hugged him in the image which was reminiscent of a famous photograph of Princess Diana embracing a young cancer sufferer