Newbury neighbors recreate Halloween for 6-year-old battling cancer

NEWBURY, Mass. — Nearly a month after Halloween, residents of one Newbury neighborhood recreated the holiday for a 6-year-old girl who missed out on trick-or-treating while battling cancer.

Ellie Bauer, who has Stage 4 neuroblastoma, was in the hospital receiving treatment for seven weeks. This week, she came home.

"We said, ‘Hey, what do you want to do when you get home?’" Ellie's father, Andrew Bauer said. "And the first thing she said was, ‘I want to trick-or-treat.’ We said, ‘OK, we've got to figure this out.’"

Heidi Roy came up with the plan and got her entire street on board. Neighbors dug up Halloween decorations they had put away for next year and stocked up on candy.

"I just came up with this idea that maybe we could recreate Halloween for Ellie," Roy said. "And I’m thinking, ‘OK, one house would be kind of boring.’ So I just sent a text message, and this goes to show what kind of a neighborhood I live in. Everybody responded within 20 minutes."

Ellie and her sister, Emmie, dressed as princesses, while their little brother wore a tiger costume. Followed by nearly 20 kids from the neighborhood also dressed up, they went door to door along Maple Terrace, as residents showered them with love and candy.

Everett police officer Dennis O'Donnell also presented a 12-volt police car that he bought for Ellie and her siblings. O'Donnell, who lost his daughter, Ella, to cancer last year continues to celebrate his little girl's life with the charity, Ella's Army Fund.

A student at Newbury Elementary School, Ellie has not been able to go to school during treatment, so seeing familiar faces and celebrating all the holidays at home are extra special this year, her father told Boston 25 News.

"She’s an introvert, kind of quiet, but she will remember this forever," Andrew Bauer said. "Truly, truly, we feel so blessed by this community."

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