First Holy Communion for a very special five-year-old

Little Shezyan Zammit slips into a velvet dress that is reminiscent of her favourite princess, Cinderella, and prances around her parents’ apartment, chattering excitedly. She can hardly contain her anticipation for Sunday when she will receive her First Holy Communion, aged five. The Curia granted her special permission to fulfil her dream before she starts receiving chemotherapy in October to remove a brain tumour. Her parents, Vince Carl and Marisa Zammit, recount how, a few months ago, she started to run a high fever, which left her listless and lethargic. “She would complain of severe headaches. At times, she would scream in pain,” Ms Zammit, 28, says. “She ended up spending more days sick at home than at school.” In April, the couple had one of the worst experiences a parent could go through: their daughter had developed a tumour at the back of her head. “Doctors told us to enjoy her as much as possible and give her all she desired. What did they mean?” Ms Zammit remembers thinking at the time. “If the chemotherapy doesn’t work, they would need to operate,” Mr Zammit, 39, explains. “We were told there was a high risk of her either suffering brain damage or... passing...