According to her dad, Giana was practically born loving horses. She carried a stuffed horse everywhere she went until she was able to meet real horses and learn to ride them—which happened shortly after she learned to walk. 

Giana’s father and primary caregiver, Ken, often took her to ranches to go horseback riding. Interacting with horses brought Giana a calming sense of joy. Giana felt like she was flying when riding on the back of a horse.  

One day, when she was 9, Giana was sent home from school with flu-like symptoms and wanted to take a nap. Yet when she tried to sleep, she was too hot, so she laid in the bathtub to cool down.  

“She called me into the bathroom and asked me turn on the shower with cool water,” recalls Ken. “Then suddenly, she said, ‘Hey, why’d you turn the lights off? Turn them back on. I can’t see.’ And I thought she was messing with me, but she was insistent.” 

In a matter of minutes, Giana was fully blind. A minute-and-a-half later, Giana was semi-conscious and couldn’t speak or hold herself up. Ken called 911, and the ambulance arrived within six minutes.

The hospital staff immediately ran a CAT scan and found a ruptured tumor, causing blindness. “There were no options,” Ken says. “It was take out the tumor, or she will die."

During the first surgery, the doctors relieved pressure inside Giana’s head. Hours later, after she was stable enough, Giana underwent a second surgery to remove the tumor. A few days later, a third surgery was needed to relieve more pressure inside her head.   

During her first month of recovery, Giana was watched around the clock by nurses who rotated shifts in her hospital room 24 hours a day. The normally bubbly nine-year-old was so weak that her lung collapsed. Giana didn’t open her eyes for two weeks, and she couldn’t talk for a full month.  

In total, Giana was in the hospital for two-and-a-half months. Since the tumor was in her brain’s fourth quadrant, which controls vision and motor functions, Giana had to relearn most behaviors we learn as toddlers, like walking, talking, smiling, eating, and going to the bathroom.  

The doctors thought Giana wouldn’t recall most of what had happened. But her dad says, “She was a lot more conscious than anybody thought. She got really bad Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She would have these panic attacks and bursts of rage, and we would end up back in the ER.”  

To address Giana's mental and physical health, Ken spent most days taking her to numerous specialists all over the Bay Area. To help with her PTSD, Ken took Giana to check out the Giant Steps Therapeutic Equestrian Center in Petaluma. Unfortunately, the center closed due to COVID, so she did not receive treatment, but Ken will never forget the experience they had. 

When it finally came time for the wish, the father-daughter duo flew out to Colorado and were amazed by what they saw. Ken says, "Make-A-Wish provided a trip I never could've given her. The ranch itself was amazing. I think, most often, places don't really live up to the hype. But this place did. And Make-A-Wish lived up to the hype too—everything was exactly what a child's wish should be."

The ranch staff worked directly with Giana and her father, getting to know her on a deeper level through a series of questions, and matched her with the ideal horse for the week—a beautiful Chestnut brown horse named Tank. The two were a perfect fit. 

“The ranch manager came up to me the first afternoon and said, ‘We understand what brought you here. What can we do to make this trip better for her?’” says Ken. “They ended up giving Giana private riding lessons that weren’t included and really went above and beyond to make the experience the best for Giana.” 

For the four days Giana and Ken were there, Giana connected with Tank, grooming him and going on daily rides. She even dressed him up in rainbow-colored hair extensions. For added fun, Giana also ziplined and practiced archery—another activity she had enjoyed before her diagnosis.

“This wish is meaningful for a few reasons,” says Ken, “First, it’s something she’s always wanted to do, and she came very close to not ever getting the opportunity to do this or anything else like this again. And second, it’s a way to help her turn the page and move on from everything she’s been through.” 

Now, Giana has made a remarkable physical recovery. She continues to ride horses and participates in gymnastics! Her wish serves as a powerful testament to her strength and resilience.