Horses have always been Suriha’s thing. 

“Anytime she could be near a horse, that’s what she wants,” explains her dad, Dustin. “We’re not a horse family, so this is definitely Suriha’s thing. She’s taught us a lot.” 

Suriha also taught her family about sickle cell disease. Dustin and Suriha’s mom, Jennifer, adopted her when she was just three days old, knowing she had sickle cell, but not knowing a lot about it. 

“We were completely in the dark at first,” says Dustin. “We had no idea what sickle cell meant.” 

They quickly learned that hospital stays, blood transfusions, and constant vigilance would be a part of daily life. “Anytime she’s sick—fever or anything—it’s an automatic hospital visit,” Jennifer explains. “It’s just part of how we live.” 

Suriha has two older sisters, Ella and Zoey, and a younger sister, Anna. 

“Going to hospitals with Suriha when she was in pain made us closer as a family,” says Ella. “It made us more understanding—not just of Suriha, but of other kids living with conditions every day.” 

Despite not being able to do things other kids can do, Suriha meets the world with exuberance and joy. Ella describes her as “crazy, wild, but really caring. She loves all animals. She loves all people.” 

When Suriha learned she was eligible for a wish, the reaction was immediate. “She screamed at the top of her lungs,” Jennifer laughs. “She was just beside herself.” Suriha describes the feeling as “like an explosion.” 

Asked what she wanted to wish for, she didn’t hesitate: to meet This Esme—the UK-based horse trainer and YouTuber she had watched for years. Esme Higgs is more than Suriha’s favorite online personality; she’s also a role model. 

“She’s super, super kind,” Suriha says. “She takes care of her horses and goes on trail rides all the time.” 

Dustin says that Suriha made the wish not fully believing it could actually come true. “We thought, ‘That’s a big wish—we’ll see what happens,’” he recalls. “It was something we never could have done for her on our own.” 

As Suriha waited on her wish, Jennifer saw her anticipation grow. “She’s prepared pictures and written her a note,” Jennifer says. “It’s been really special to see.” 

After several months of coordination, it was finally time for the big reveal—Suriha and her family would be traveling to meet This Esme at the International Horse Show in London in December 2025.  

According to Ella, once the countdown was on, the excitement level around the house was “a trillion.” For Dustin, the idea was both thrilling and daunting. “We had not traveled internationally as a family,” he says. “With Suriha’s medical needs, that’s always felt out of reach.” 

But from the moment the family arrived at SFO to board their United flight, those worries eased. “Someone really did think through step by step, day by day, what it was going to take to get our family of six from here to there,” Dustin recalls. “After the first day, it was just about enjoying it.” 

Suriha was in awe of London: riding the Underground, walking city streets, seeing landmarks like Big Ben. “It was amazing,” she says. “A new place I haven’t been to.” 

Then it was time for the heart of her wish—meeting This Esme at the London International Horse Show. Surrounded by riders and horses, Suriha was completely enthralled. “She was flying high,” Dustin remembers. “She’s sitting there explaining everything to me—‘Here’s what’s happening, Dad.’” Then Esme appeared. 

“Usually, Suriha is talkative and bouncing around,” Jennifer says. “But when she met Esme, she was just so starstruck she could barely talk.” 

Suriha handed Esme a drawing, which Esme accepted and told her she would hang it up. “I was like, ‘She took my picture. She likes it," Suriha recalls. 

The rest of the trip felt like a celebration of possibility. Theatre lights on the West End. Riding the London Eye. Exploring the city together as a family. “There wasn’t a day we weren’t experiencing something new,” Dustin says. “Every one of the girls had something special.” 

When the family returned home, the wish stayed with them. Photos from London rotate through their house. The stories come up every day. “She still talks about it all the time,” Jennifer says. “We all do.” 

More than anything, the wish changed how Suriha sees herself. “Sometimes when you have a disease like sickle cell, it can limit a child’s dreams,” Jennifer reflects. “She knows now, ‘I can travel. I can go to big places. I’m not limited by my disease.’” 

Suriha puts it best: “I wish I could rewind time and go back and do it again.”