The /*Make-A-Wish Foundation*/ of Eastern North Carolina is giving the girl and her family a trip to a dude ranch in Montana.
And to send her off in style, she got a taste of the wild, wild west right here in the Heart of Carolina.
No question, 5-year-old Abigail Oakley was at the Circle M City in /*Sanford*/ Tuesday.
Trick-roping and stunts on the set of the movie "Cowboy Trail" made a perfect party setting for a little girl who loves horses more than anything else.
Abigail says she has always loved horses. Now, thanks to Make-A-Wish of/* Eastern North Carolina*/, she's about to spend a whole lot of time with them.
"Abigail will be heading out to Montana to a ranch there to take care of horses and ride on the trails and just really be around them, that's her passion," said Cindy Williams with Make A Wish Foundation of Eastern N.C..
That passion may have helped Abigail endure a difficult diagnosis.
She has /*Renal Artery Stenosis*/, which can lead to kidney failure.
As you would expect, it's hard for her family to talk about, but her mother told Eyewitness News the Make-A-Wish trip is a dream come true for all of them, because Abigail is so delighted about the ranch, the horses and her brand new pink cowboy boots!
"She's been really excited about wearing her western gear and riding horses, seeing horses and getting ready to go to Montana," Abigail's Mother, Judy Oakley said.
Abigail and her family leave for the dude ranch on June 15 and will be there for a week.
Since 1986, Make-A-Wish of Eastern N.C. has granted more than 1,700 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. They say they would like to grant many more wishes.
If you would like to help, visit Eastern North Carolina's website at www.eastncwish.org.
