How Harry Potter gave Catie her dying wish

Best-selling author JK Rowling has secretly donated £75,000 to a cancer fund - in memory of a little girl to whom she read chapters of her unpublished Harry Potter book as the child lay dying.

Catie Hoch was just six when she was diagnosed with a cancerous kidney tumour. By the age of seven she had neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer, which had spread to her liver, lungs and spine.

As the cancer continued its relentless, and inevitably fatal progress, her only escape was into the magical world of Rowling's schoolboy wizard.

When the youngster's condition worsened suddenly at the age of eight and she was told she had only months to live, a friend of the family wrote to the author's publishers about the then unpublished fourth book which she said Catie would not live to read.

Her mother, Gina Peca, and stepfather, Larry Hoch, were stunned to receive not simply a formal letter from the publishers but also a personal e-mail from the author, with an exciting message for Catie about Harry Potter's progress.

It read: 'Dear Catie, I am working very hard on book four at the moment...on a bit that involves some new creatures Hagrid has brought along for the care of Magical Creatures classes. You are an extremely brave person and a true Gryffindor [the school house to which Harry belongs]. With lots of love, JK Rowling (Jo to anybody in Gryffindor).'

So began a correspondence which became meaningful to both Rowling and Catie's mother and a tremendous comfort to the dying child.

When Catie had only days to live, Rowling rang her to read chapters from the unfinished manuscript of the fourth book, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.

Then, when Catie died, on May 18, 2000, aged nine, Rowling wrote a heartfelt note to her parents.

It said: 'I consider myself privileged to have had contact with Catie. I can only aspire to being the sort of parent both of you have been to Catie during her illness. I am crying so hard as I type. She left footprints on my heart all right. With much love, Jo.'

Now a foundation has been set up in Catie's name and the author, who is expecting her second child in the spring, has given a Christmas present to the charity in the form of the donation.

Yesterday Catie's mother wept as she said: 'Catie knew she was dying, but she never complained or asked, "Why me?" She was a ray of sunshine. Jo used to e-mail her and send her presents. She even phoned to read to Catie in person.

'I must have written her a note after Catie's death telling her about the foundation and a few weeks ago we received a $100,000 donation from her.

'So it seems that, just like JK Rowling, Catie continues to work her magic.'

Neuroblastoma is the third most common form of childhood cancer. After Catie, from Albany, New York, was diagnosed with it, surgeons removed one of her kidneys, her adrenal gland, three-quarters of her liver and parts of her lungs.

She endured seven rounds of highdose chemotherapy, radiation and numerous clinical drug trials. But, after almost two years of treatment, she was told that the cancer had returned in a more aggressive form.

The youngster then had only one wish - to read the fourth Harry Potter book. Her mother had almost finished reading her the third book, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, but Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire was not due out for months. Indeed, Rowling was still writing it.

Catie did not have that long, so the family friend e-mailed Rowling's publisher, Bloomsbury.

Shortly afterwards Rowling e-mailed Catie and sent her a plush stuffed owl named Pigwidgeon (a character in the new book) for Valentine's Day and a card. Two weeks after Valentine's Day Rowling wrote again.

Catie dictated her replies to her mother, who typed them into the family's home computer and sent them to the author by e-mail.

The child wrote mainly about the intricacies of the Harry Potter plot, her family and friends.

At one point Rowling replied: 'I love you even more for telling me to make book four long, because I am worried about how long it's getting. You've cheered me up a lot. Lots of love. Your friend right back, Jo XXX.'

Catie defied doctors' predictions and made it to her ninth birthday in March, 2000. Rowling sent a card and presents - a soft toy and a fantasy book.

But by the spring of that year Catie had lapsed into a coma. She did regain consciousness, however, and her first request was that her mother invite her friends around so that she could personally give away her collection of dolls.

Next came a request for news of Harry Potter. All this information was being relayed by her mother to JK Rowling in e-mails.

Then came a surprise long-distance phone call to the Hochs' home from the author at her home in Edinburgh.

Rowling wanted to read parts of book four to Catie. Her mother recalled: 'We laid Catie on the living room couch and Jo read to her over the phone. Catie's face just lit up.'

The exercise was repeated again and again, with Rowling calling repeatedly to read to her.

Speaking from their home in the town of Clifton Park, 120 miles north of New York, Gina, 43, said: 'Sometimes Catie was not well enough to listen. But then there came the moment when we could tell she was paying attention. She was totally absorbed in the plot and there was a smile on her face I will never forget.

'The change that came over her was like a miracle. Nothing could take away the physical pain, but Jo gave her a sense of comfort and wellbeing.'

But Catie began failing so badly that finally she could take no more calls.

Three days after her death Rowling sent a message of condolence. It read: 'Dear Gina and Larry, I have been away again. I've only just received your message. I have been praying that Catie would be released, that she would go where she can wait happily and painlessly for the rest of us to join her. But there are no words to express how sorry I am.'

Rowling continued to write to Catie's family in the ensuing weeks and shared in their grief and loss.

One note said: 'I look back at Catie's e-mails and happiness shines out of each and every one. Please don't thank me for anything I did, because I feel truly honoured to have known your daughter, however briefly. Jo XXX.'

The Catie Hoch Foundation, founded by her mother and stepfather, a lawyer, has raised almost £100,000 in the two years since Catie died and made gifts to a hospital and hospice to help children suffering from neuroblastoma. Then just before Christmas came their surprise present - the cheque from JK Rowling.

The Harry Potter books have brought Rowling incredible wealth - five years ago she was living on state benefits of £79 a week. Today she is the world's richest female author with a fortune of around £220 million.

The 36-year-old, who raised her young daughter in an Edinburgh bedsit, has said: 'People have said it is like winning the Lottery and in a sense it was because it was that unexpected. It was security, it meant we could get out of rented accommodation - but it also sent me into complete panic.'

The story of how she befriended dying Catie Hoch is even more extraordinary because of Rowling's almost fanatical desire for privacy. In the leafy Edinburgh street where she lives with her doctor husband, Neil Murray, she has paid a small fortune to ensure maximum protection from the public.

For the same reason, perhaps, she has had a mixed relationship with the Press. Her best revenge is likely to have been in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire - the book she read so lovingly to Catie. One character is reporter Rita Skeeter, an obnoxious caricature of a Fleet Street hack who writes things about Harry that he never remembers saying.

Yesterday a spokesman for the author confirmed a donation had been made to the Catie Hoch Foundation, but would make no further comment.

In this case, however, actions have truly spoken louder than words.

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