Girl with Cerebral Palsy Gets Her Wish

Gabriella Andrews, an 8-year old Texan girl living with cerebral palsy, had one dream – to go on an ice skating trip to Buffalo, NY and skate on a unique rink built for children with special needs.

However, her dream was nearly destroyed when the Texas Wishing Well Foundation (TWWF) backed out on its promise to sponsor Gabriella's trip. The TWWF is a local branch of a national charity dedicated to granting wishes to children with fatal, incurable and/or extremely debilitating diseases, much like the Make a Wish Foundation.

A Broken Dream…

According to Gabriella's mother, Holly Andrews, the Texas Wishing Well Foundation approached the family about granting Gabriella's wish earlier this year. While the charity had supposedly been raising money to fund Gabriella's trip to New York, early in October 2008, Holly received a call from a representative of TWWF informing her that the trip was off.

Following this call, the local chapter of the Wishing Well Foundation shut down, and Holly was unable to get in contact with any local representatives of the charity. Similarly, the TWWF Web site also vanished.

Charity Under Investigation

Currently, it's unclear whether the charity did, in fact, raise any money at all. While some speculate that the representatives of the charity fled with monies raised for Gabriella's trip, authorities are still investigating whether any such fraud and/or theft occurred.

Frank Willis, the head of the TWWF, did state that the charity still plans to honor its promise to fund Gabriella's dream. However, he was unwilling to give any answers regarding the alleged loss of donations and the charity's closure.

Caring Citizens Restore Gabriella’s Dream

This heartbreaking story was quickly picked up by a local Texas news station. Upon airing the details of Gabriella's broken dream, many local citizens came to Gabriella's rescue, sending money and plane tickets to the station so that Gabriella's wish could still come true.

(Source: WFAA Texas)

Do you have a family member living with cerebral palsy? If so, contact us to for more information and resources regarding your legal rights.