SOME WISHES CAN COME TRUE
Rebecca Harrington, a fourth grader at South Effingham Elementary School, was surprised by a special visitor last week at recess.
The Frog Princess visited Rebecca Harrington to let her know that her wish to go on a “real train ride” and to visit Disney World would be granted by Make-A-Wish at the end of December. The Frog Princess, Rebecca Harrington’s favorite princess, also brought cupcakes to her class, and bestowed her with a special “Wish Scroll”.
It was a total surprise, Harrington’s mother, Genny Harrington said.
“Rebecca had no clue that it was happening,” Genny Harrington said.
None of Rebecca Harrington’s classmates knew about the surprise either.
“None of the kids had a clue what was about to happen,” Genny Harrington said. The teacher told the students they were going to play a game.
Rebecca Harrington was born with complex congenital heart defects and spent the first 11 weeks of her life in the hospital in Atlanta. She has undergone four open-heart surgeries and multiple other procedures, with her last surgery taking place on July 2 of this year in Atlanta. Her family spent the first half of this year preparing for the unknown outcome of open-heart surgery, but Rebecca Harrington wasn’t told about the surgery until about two weeks prior, so that she wouldn’t have to worry.
She came through the surgery with no complications and was able to come home four days after surgery to finish healing at home.
Rebecca Harrington, her mom and four siblings will be traveling by train to Orlando on Dec. 26 and will spend a week at the Give Kids the World Village. Give Kids the World Village was opened in 1989 by Nazi death camp survivor, Henri Landwirth, who dreamed of giving kids with life threatening illnesses a special place to stay while fulfilling their wish to visit Disney World and other local theme parks. During the week that they spend in Orlando, the family will spend three days at Disney World and two days at Universal Studios.
More about Rebecca’s journey can be found at https://www.facebook.com/redetermination.