A dream come true for the 100th National Cherry Festival. A Traverse City girl was given an opportunity her family never thought she would have the chance to do.
“She’s bubbly. We always tell people that you probably hear her before you see her because she just loves to sing and just be joyful.
Elle is an eight-year-old who loves to ride her bike or go to the splash pad just like any other kid, but at five she was diagnosed with Sanfilippo syndrome also known as childhood dementia.
“Not in a million years did we expect, June 3rd, 2025, to get the phone call that has this ultra rare, diagnosis that when we talk with families, it’s kind of the same message. There’s no cure, there’s no treatment. Just love your children for as long as you have them,” David said.
Elle has type C, a rare form of Sanfilipo Syndrome. The Walline’s only been able to find 20 other families in the world with a child with that type.
“She was diagnosed with, with autism and that’s a super common journey for these kids with Sanfilippo,” Chelsea said.
The Walline’s are now processing what this diagnosis means and how to make the best of the years they have left with Elle while raising awareness.
“Seeing a child with Sanfilippo, whether that’s personal or just through other families sharing their story. I think that’s been a powerful, tool of families sharing their stories, and for more clinicians to get eyes on these kids and hopefully get a diagnosis,” David said.
When Elle was young Chelsea and David would always imagine Elle as the National Cherry Queen. When they received her diagnosis, they started to believe this wouldn’t be a reality. That’s when they decided to just reach out and see if she could still have a chance to be queen.
“It’s been incredible, the support that the festival has given. They have obviously a million things going on. It’s been really heart felt that that they kind of rally behind,” David said.
Elle has been named Honorary Cherry Queen. Throughout the week Elle has been at different royal events including the Princess Tea and the Royale Parade.
“I think also for our two other daughters just to see Elle being a part of something, because it can be harder when you have a child with special needs like Elle. How they participate in the community sometimes looks a lot different than other kiddos. So just helping them, having them see the community embrace her, I think will be very, very meaningful,” Chelsea said.
The Walline’s are documenting Elle’s journey on social media. They also created shirts to wear throughout the week that say, ‘help us save our cherry queen."
With the help of science, they are hoping to raise awareness and have more time with their Cherry Queen.
“She is living, a life that’s kind of a race against time and this awareness or any financial support that someone might be able to provide, could literally save her life,” David said.
Go to teamelle.com to follow Elle’s story or follow her Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram.
They also have a gofundme for anyone looking to support their fight for Elle.