Accomplish MN: Samantha Gets Her Wish Of Meeting A Mermaid
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- All Wednesday, WCCO has been sharing the wishes of Minnesota kids.
Make-A-Wish Minnesota has granted some big wishes, but every once in a while, the organization is faced with a wish that sounds more like, well, a fairy tale.
Samantha Crook is a sweet, soft-spoken first grader with a ready smile. But over the last two years, she's had to overcome a lot.
"In Samantha's case, she was never sick. She was sick for just about two to three days before she was diagnosed, so we had no indication," Samantha's mom, Teri Crook, said.
All of a sudden, just months after her fifth birthday, Samantha was diagnosed with leukemia.
"When you get that diagnosis, it's very shocking and it takes a while to even process it and to really realize, especially for a parent, to say, 'You know what, my child has cancer,'" she said.
Samantha's life-threatening condition qualified her for a wish. And she had a big one.
She wanted to meet a mermaid.
Wish granters searched the depths of the ocean, and found Mermaid Kariel in Hawaii.
"I thought it was really cool," Samantha said. "She had fins and she had a tail and she had a crown."
And through her mermaid magic, Kariel gave Samantha a tail of her own.
"The mermaid spent an hour with her, swimming -- just the two of them," Teri said. "So it was pretty amazing and special for all of us."
After 20 months of cancer treatment, it was a chance for a family to be together, and see that even fairy-tale wishes can come true.
"That's why I think I appreciate now when we have some tough times, or we go through struggles, I just kinda reflect back on the trip and it just helps me get through," Teri said.
Since we talked to Samantha, she's had one more treatment. There are just five more left to go.