'It was so magical, but a reminder this may never actually happen for her': Chronically ill little girl Eva, who has defied the odds to live to age eight, gets her dream and marries invisible best friend Ben in touching home ceremony

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Chronically ill eight-year-old, Eva Mitchell, has married her imaginary best friend in a touching ceremony at her home

A chronically ill girl who has defied the odds to live for eight years after being born with a large hole in her chest has married her imaginary best friend in a touching ceremony at her home.

Eva Mitchell faces a daily battle to survive as her stomach and bowel have shut down - meaning that she is fed through her blood stream and given constant IV medications.

But despite being in constant pain and suffering a number of infections, Eva decided she wanted to marry her imaginary friend, Ben, in a 'magical' ceremony at her Auckland home.

She even picked out the flowers, put a sign up outside her house welcoming guests to the after party and chose a white wedding dress - complete with a heart-shaped cut-out.

'Eva suddenly got the idea out of the blue around four weeks ago and she hasn't stopped talking about it since,' her mother, Tiff Mora, told Daily Mail Australia.

'We kept having to put it off as she kept getting sick, but she would say: 'Next weekend I'm getting married to Ben.

'She got so excited picking out her dress and said she needed lots of flowers to make it really special. At first it all seemed like a bit of a joke, or a game.

'But it was so special and magical, it was a real reminder, especially as she has been so ill recently, that this may never actually happen for her.'

Eva's step-father Jason Mcleod walked the eight-year-old down the aisle to Love Story by Taylor Swift on Thursday.

Family friend Shelton Woolright, who is a musician and judge on New Zealand X Factor, acted as celebrant and took little Eva through her vows.

They recited lines from You & Me by Martine Kindermans, a children's book which Ms Mora used to read to Eva while she was in intensive care in hospital.

In the touching video, Eva's 10-year-old sister, Mela, could also be seen holding a bunch of flowers and watching the ceremony intently.

Family friend Shelton Woolright (centre), who is a judge on X Factor, acted as celebrant and took little Eva through her vows, pictured (left) is her step-father Jason Mcleod

Eva's 10-year-old sister, Mela (right), could also be seen holding a bunch of flowers and watching the ceremony intently

'I could see that Jason was getting really emotional, then I started to get really choked up and I just wanted to cry,' Ms Mora said. 

'It was so gorgeous and we thought Shelton was just going to read the words, but she started repeating the lines like vows, she knew what she was doing.

'It has been a really hard year and she has been constantly ill with bugs, so we didn't want to stop her from doing anything she wanted to do.

'We have realised that we are desperately running out of time.'

Eva was born with a large hole in her left diaphragm, known as a diaphragmatic hernia, which pushed her organs up in her chest cavity - putting massive pressure on her heart.

Eva was born with a large hole in her left diaphragm, known as a diaphragmatic hernia, which pushed her organs up in her chest cavity, pictured in hospital

She now has complete gastrointestinal failure, meaning her stomach and bowel do not work at all, and she has chronic lung disease

Doctors said it was unlikely she would survive, but she spent six years living in Auckland's Starship Hospital full-time with her mother and 'supportive' older sister.

She now has complete gastrointestinal failure, meaning her stomach and bowel do not work at all, and she has chronic lung disease.

Her parents are now trying to live 'each day as it comes' and encourage their daughter to do what she loves.

On the day of her wedding, Eva stuck a number of lists around the house with instructions to ensure there were flowers, dresses, rings and music.

She even put a sign up outside her house, saying: 'Welcome to Eva and Ben's wedding. Please come in and enjoy.

'Hope you have a good time. Please stay till the after party and singing.'

Eva tried on a number of different dresses (left) before she settled on the perfect one (right) 

Eva's step-father Jason Mcleod walked the eight-year-old down the aisle to Love Story by Taylor Swift on Thursday

The eight-year-old then dressed in her favourite frock, which she paired with red shoes and colourful flowers in her hair.

Her mother said that Ben has been a constant presence in Eva's life for the past few years and said he even came to the shops with them the other day. 

'Eva said they had been arguing recently because Ben really wanted to get married, but Eva didn't have a dress, it was just so sweet.

'She is such a funny little thing. Sometimes she is really shy about what he says, but she was adamant that he wanted to get married. 

'Eva has told us that when Ben visits she meets him at the door and gives him a kiss. This is very similar to what I do with her step-father Jason.

'It is so interesting how much children pick up from the relationships around them.'

The family are currently unsure about how long Eva is expected to stay with them. 

'The reality is that we never get our hopes up too high,' Ms Mora said.

'She has been living an artificial life and antibiotics are really hard on the body. It is totally unknown how much longer she will be with us.

'I think that was the main reason that this wedding was so special. I sobbed because I want to see her grow up and have a real wedding.'

Before the wedding, Ms Mora posted a message on the Little Miss Eva Mitchell Facebook page, saying: 'Our little crazy funny fighter of a little girl is determined she's marrying her imaginary friend Ben tonight.

'She's up at night with sore ears and infections in her lines and we wake with constant heartache and worry...so we are playing along.

'Some might disagree with her having imaginary friends and us not stopping them but she deserves the magic because life is far to short and far to precious to not.' 

She even put a sign up outside her house, saying: 'Welcome to Eva and Ben's wedding. Please come in and enjoy'

Eva lived with her older sister (left) and their mother full-time in a hospital for the first six years of her life