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| Making a wish come true Virginia Buck of Tyrone is a five-year-old girl who suffers from Huntington’s Disease, in which there is no current cure. The Make a Wish Foundation, like a genie, made her wish of a shopping spree come true. Preparing to take a ride to the store in a limousine, from left: Elizabeth, Willow and Virginia Buck. Back: Schuyler, Lisa Buck (mom) and Ann Weight (grandmother). (The Daily Herald/Virgie Werner) |
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The Make a Wish Foundation is a very successful organization in which it helps children’s wishes come true. For the thousands of Make a Wish stories, Virginia Buck, of Tyrone, has another inspiring story to tell of her own.
She is a five-year-old girl who suffers from Huntington’s Disease, in which there is no current cure, and made her wish. The Make a Wish Foundation, like a Genie, made her wish come true. Originally, she wanted to fly to see her Aunt Carol in Alaska, but air travel was a little scary and a car drive was too long. Virginia decided a shopping spree was the next best choice for her.
As Mr. and Mrs. Gibboney, Make a Wish advisors, arrived in a limousine to pick up the Buck family, they jumped for joy as Virginia’s wish was approaching at the very second.
“The expression on her face was priceless and was very emotional to see her react the way she did,” Lisa Buck said, Virginia’s mother. “Make a Wish is an excellent organization when helping kids receive their dreams. To see my daughter so happy and excited, they fulfilled not only her wish, but also our family’s wish as well.”
Virginia, her mother Lisa and her three other siblings, Elizabeth (twin), Willow and Schuyler all jumped into the limousine and prepared for an awesome shopping spree. Her father, Michael, who also suffers from Huntington’s Disease, could not make the trip.
Virginia’s most important thing that she wanted on the trip was a computer so that she could send emails back and forth to her Aunt Carol in Alaska. She was so excited to pick out anything she wanted and her family and the Gibboneys were also excited for her as well.
“I really think that this trip was something special for all of us to see how much people can care for another family. Mr. and Mrs. Gibboney are the most caring, loving and kind people that could have been there for Virginia, and we thank Make a Wish for being able to help make her wish come true,” Lisa stated of their trip with the Gibboneys.
After choosing the perfect computer, Virginia began to search Wal-Mart for other important things she wanted. She picked up a nice bicycle, some shoes, she got her hair cut and she picked out some new clothes for the school year to wear. However, she wasn’t done yet.
Virginia then cruised down the boulevard in her limousine and arrived at K-Mart where she bought school supplies for Kindergarten. Virginia was then treated like a queen as they arrived at King’s Restaurant for a bite to eat before the day was over. A fantastic trip for a fantastic family.
“The day went so fast and was over in an instant. The Gibboneys were down to earth people and gave Virginia anything she wanted. They were very generous and helpful and made Virginia’s day just the way she wanted it.
“Virginia and our family want to thank the Make a Wish for an excellent day and for making Virginia’s wish come true. The foundation is so helpful to the millions of families around the world and it will continue to show the love and passion they put into their work to help make kids dreams come true,” Lisa stated after a wonderful day with her daughter.
Since the trip, Virginia just received her computer and the first thing she did was email her Aunt Carol in Alaska. She has been practicing on her bike and has been riding without training wheels, which at the age of five is very impressive.
With the school year approaching, Virginia has shown nothing but excitement for the new year to start as she heads to Kindergarten with Mrs. Newman.
“Virginia is prepared for Kindergarten since she has been at Headstart for the past two years. She may have a little trouble spelling her name again, but I’m sure she will be just fine. She has been talking about school for a while, so I’m guessing she is really excited to head into Kindergarten,” her mother said.
Dr. Stayer is Virginia’s helpful doctor at Geisinger Hospital in Pittsburgh. He has been Virginia’s biggest supporter through all of this and has been trying to help her in every way possible. Dr. Clark is Virginia’s normal doctor at Altoona and has been very helpful and generous to the family over the past few years. These two doctors have been very generous to the Buck family and will continue to show their dedication to fight the disease that lies in Virginia’s body.
Virginia’s condition is still incurable and Michelle Miller, Attorney Ayers Office, is holding a Benefit Dance for Virginia at the Tyrone Legion on September 6 at 9 p.m. Raising money for a disease that is incurable is something that everyone needs to help with. Everyone deserves a chance to have fun and play and do anything they want in life. So get out to this benefit dance and help find that cure for Huntington’s Disease.
For more information about the benefit dance, contact Michelle at 684-9465.
