Fort Bragg community hosts Halloween in the spring for terminally ill child

HARNETT COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Ila Haskin's devastating diagnosis of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) has been rough on her family. The aggressive terminal brain cancer took them down an unimaginable path.

"Three weeks ago, my daughter was walking, talking, going to school, ballet," said Nadine Haskin, Ila's mom. "In that three weeks, she's completely lost her ability to get around. When you watch her, you can tell she's on the end of her fight."

The family lives in Linden Oaks, a military community in Harnett County.

Residents are holding a trunk or treat for Ila since it is her favorite holiday. It's also likely this will be the last one she celebrates.

"Halloween has been her favorite thing," Haskin said. "She loves knocking on doors and eating candy. We obviously aren't going to have another one so we needed to give her one. I want the neighborhood kids to talk about this for a long time and remember Ila."

Halloween in the spring is set for this Sunday at Shughart Elementary on Fort Bragg at 4 p.m.