When Rebekah Walsh, a Laurelwood Academy junior, walked into Doernbecher Children's Hospital on May 13, 2003, she didn't realize she would be leaving months later, confined to a wheelchair. She was admitted just a few days before her 17th birthday to see what a mass in her pelvic area was. It had been causing her pain since a mission trip two months earlier.
Walsh was diagnosed with a rare cancer and spent the next five and a half months at Doernbecher, enduring rounds of chemotherapy and physical therapy.
After a few weeks in the hospital, Make-A-Wish Foundation representatives met with Walsh, who had no second thoughts on what she wanted her wish to be—a laptop computer with all the works for playing games and, particularly, for writing stories and poems.
Walsh's wish came true as an early Christmas gift when the laptop arrived on Dec. 21. Portland-area businesses added to the surprise by providing a few extra gifts.
Walsh, a Gaston (Ore.) Church member, is now recovering at home. She has a Web site where family and friends can check on her progress. For more information and the Web site address, please e-mail michaelandcherry@msn.com.
Daisy and Mari, Make-A-Wish representatives, and Rebekah's best friend, Alisha, helped her celebrate her new laptop.
