MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - The Make-A-Wish Foundation in South Florida have made a teenage cancer patient’s dream of becoming a mermaid come true in Miami Beach.
When 13-year-old Haylee Johnson, a native of St. Charles, Illinois, was battling brain cancer for more than a year, she fantasized about being a part of the ocean.
“I’ve always been obsessed with mermaids, so my favorite princess was always Ariel,” she said.
Johnson, who is from St. Charles, Illinois, spent the day at the former Versace mansion to live out that dream.
Serrita Johnson, Haylee’s mother, said she does not just love mermaids. She wants to be one.
“Dad used to wrap her up– instead of just wrapping her up in a blanket, he would cocoon her into a mermaid, and it’s just always been her love,” she said. “She would look out at the ocean and be like, ‘I’m going, mom.'”
Johnson would always turn to the ocean when the reality of the disease was too much.
However, she is cancer-free, and Make-A-Wish Southern Florida celebrated by turning her into a mermaid princess.
“She can expect to try on her customized tail, swim with mermaids, and they’re going to frolic in the water with her and do all sorts of different activities.” Make-A-Wish Southern Florida spokesperson Richard Kelly said.
Underwater cameras captured Haylee using her tail like a real mermaid during the celebration.
Sam Ragsdale, Haylee’s father, said during radiation and chemotherapy, the water represented serenity and becoming healthy. It helped her get through it.
“This just brings me a huge amount of joy because I know this is what she’s always wanted, so for me, my heart is just overflowing right now,” he said.
Despite all that Haylee has gone through, she believes there was a purpose to her fight.
“I’m a Christian, and I knew God had a purpose,” she said. “He was going to make something good out of it.”
Haylee also said that even though she lived out her dream, she wishes it could be permanent, but she knows it is the closest she will ever get to being a mermaid, and she loved it.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.