WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A little girl who is in the fight of her life received a much-needed reason to smile, thanks to Make-A-Wish Southern Florida.
For Gabriela Montes de Oca, the wait for a bedroom makeover ended on Wednesday.
7News cameras captured the 10-year-old hugging her mother moments after seeing her revamped bedroom in her West Miami-Dade home.
“I feel excited, because I’ve been waiting almost two months to see my room,” she said.
Montes de Oca wished for her bedroom to be transformed into a pink and white paradise, and that’s exactly what she got, courtesy of Make-A-Wish Southern Florida.
“I’m happy. I’m, like, really happy, because it’s what I expected and more,” she said.
For the past few years, Montes de Oca has been fighting a difficult battle with leukemia.
Make-A-Wish brought in interior designer Martin Amado to make the child’s wish come true.
“To be honest, I thought it was going to be like gray and minimalist, but it’s not,” said Montes de Oca. “That’s how I like it. I like it pink and white. I don’t like beige or like gray; I find that boring.”
Montes de Oca inspected her room for the first time Wednesday afternoon, and boring was the last word that came to mind.
Among the additions to her room is a brand-new desk, which is now a one-stop shop for getting homework done or arts and crafts, as well as an adorable neon sign adorning her wall.
“I like this thing. I think it’s, like, cute,” she said.
Montes de Oca also has a pink and plush bed and a brand-new closet ready to be filled with all her clothes.
“I have too much stuff, and I didn’t have, like, where to put it,” she said, “but now I have a lot more storage, and there’s, like, less stuff on the floor.”
“Gabriella has had a tough couple of years with chemo, with treatment, and she’s about to turn 11,” said Make-A-Wish Southern Florida Chief Operating Officer Richard Kelly, “and this is a great location for her, a bedroom that she can enjoy and she can game with.”
Kelly said granting wishes brings happiness to children who are fighting tough health battles.
“A wish like this is such a respite from what a child and their family are going through,” he said, “and we’re able to, with Make-A-Wish, provide the hope and the joy of something like this.”
It’s safe to say this fulfilled wish has brought Montes de Oca much joy.
The bedroom makeover came at the perfect time. Gabriela turns 11 later in October.
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