'The wish never changed': Iowa girl with brain cancer gets camper for her birthday
For Madi Meyer's fifth birthday, all her friends and family gathered at her Des Moines, Iowa, elementary school to give her a special gift.
"I don't think she has any clue what's about to happen," Make-A-Wish manager Caely Tietz said.
Behind a line of fire trucks, there was a travel trailer just for Madi.
Madi was diagnosed with brain cancer a year ago.
"Our doctor did a fantastic job of getting a scan done, and it showed that she had a tumor that had ruptured and was bleeding inside her head," Madi's dad Ryan Meyer said. "Madi's defied the odds. We weren't sure if we'd celebrate a fifth birthday."
Since Madi's diagnosis, medical bills became a burden for her family. They got rid of their old house and their old camper, which Madi loved. But then came along Make-A-Wish Iowa. The nonprofit organization fulfilled her wish of having a camper, so she could make more memories with her family this summer.
"We worked really closely with the Camping World dealerships here in Iowa, purchased the trailer and we're here today," Tietz said.
"Throughout the whole thing, the wish never changed. It was always camping," Madi's mom Breeanna Meyer said.
There were even more gifts inside a toy chest for Madi's Barbies and dolls, a bathroom with a shower and blankets — everything you need to make camping comfortable.
Madi's parents say it's a gift just knowing that people care.
"They are people that we'll stay in contact way long after this, so we really appreciate everything they've done," Breanna Meyer said.