Hannah is a fascinating young teen who, just like her favorite celebrity Selena Gomez, enjoys singing and acting. She loves being in the spotlight, but there is one type of light she’s had lots of experience with so far: the bright light over an operating table.

You see, Hannah was born with a condition called spina bifida. Right after her birth, Hannah underwent two surgeries for this illness. In addition, she suffers from chiari malformation and hydrocephalus, both of which have disrupted the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in her skull. For the hydrocephalus, Hannah has had to have surgery to place a shunt in her skull to drain the excess fluid correctly. Hannah also suffers from epilepsy and endures multiple seizures. She is experiencing left side muscle deterioration and must wear a brace on one of her legs. Hannah has endured approximately six surgeries in just 13 years and is on a rigorous daily medication regimen.

Hannah’s parents first heard about Kids Wish Network and their mission to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses when they received a call saying that Hannah was eligible to have a wish of her own. Apparently, a close family friend decided that Hannah more than deserved to have a wish granted and referred her to the charity.

After her parents completed the paperwork, Hannah found herself telling Kids Wish Network that she wanted to visit the set of the Disney Channel show “Wizards of Waverly Place.” The organization got right to work on granting Hannah’s wish.

With the help of Disney Worldwide Outreach and many local sponsors in California, where the show is filmed, Kids Wish Network arranged to have Hannah and her family flown out to Hollywood to enjoy some sightseeing followed by a trip onto the Disney set. KWN also made sure that Hannah and her family had tickets to some of the most interesting Hollywood sights, transportation everywhere, comfortable accommodations and dinners every evening.

According to Hannah, “Hollywood was exciting and so much fun!   We saw so many neat attractions:  Michael Jackson’s star on the Walk of Fame; Ripley’s Believe It or Not; the Wax Museum; and lots and lots of shops! We even saw Superman!”

As much as she enjoyed everything, Hannah’s favorite part of her wish was  meeting one of her heroes, Selena Gomez: “[It was] Unbelievable!   Selena was so nice and friendly!”

“Everyone at Disney went out of their way to welcome us and treat us as part of the cast.   This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Hannah.” said Hannah’s mom.

Hannah, who was fascinated by the way the show was filmed, was surprised to see how the whole set was laid out: “It really was strange to be on the actual set of ‘Wizards of Waverly Place.’ Everything appears very large when watching the show on TV. And, actually, the sets are much smaller than I expected! We were able to take photos with the entire cast, and also take photos of every set.”

All in all, Hannah said she truly enjoyed her perfect wish.

According to her father, “Hannah’s wish was granted beyond our expectations!   It was really an eye-opener to see how hard all of the actors, actresses and other crew members work to put together an episode…As parents, we do our best each day to teach Hannah and her brother the importance of always helping others, and not to expect anything in return.   This is how we approach each and every day.   So, we are really humbled by Kids Wish Network’s willingness to help Hannah receive such a positive experience. Thank you.”

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