For nearly two years, 7-year-old Annie slept standing up. Diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease in June of 2019, Annie’s parents learned how to operate her dialysis equipment at home. However, the machines being used for her nocturnal treatments required her to be upright to operate properly.

“We had many sleepless nights,” Luis, Annie’s dad, recalled. “There are so many things that go into dialysis – from sterilization to, in our case, figuring out a way to support Annie so that she could get much-needed rest. We were all tired. When we got the call that there could be a kidney available – we just prayed that it was a match.”

The kidney awaiting Annie was in San Francisco, nine hours from the family’s home in Las Vegas. Luis and Giovanna didn’t hesitate. Together with siblings Ezekiel and Genevive, the family of five made the trek to California, hoping that Annie would be the recipient. She was.

“It was a moment of pure gratitude and relief,” Giovanna said, her eyes brimming with tears. Now six months post-transplant, Giovanna says that Annie still fatigues easily, but her energy levels and mood have improved tremendously.

When she learned she was eligible to receive a heartfelt wish, the aspiring veterinarian knew that she wanted to visit a farm. Growing up, her next door neighbor had previously had bunnies and a horse, and little Annie's love of animals grew from there. Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada partnered with the City of Fallon, Nevada to make Annie's wish come true.

The little girl embraced each aspect of her wish experience, from bottle-feeding piglets, baby goats, and a baby calf; to harvesting seeds, riding a tractor, and making homemade ice cream. She even hopped right up on a horse called Tiny for a ride around the fairgrounds but admitted that “Tiny was his name, but he wasn’t tiny, he was big.”

The same might be said about the impact that little Annie had on the town of Fallon.

“I’ve been a little nervous about today because I didn’t want to disappoint,” Isidro Alves, owner of Sand Hill Dairy, said. “I wanted to make sure there were smiles on faces, and I think we got that. Just seeing her walking alongside the cows and riding in the tractor around the grounds … you could tell she was in her element. I’m going to carry this day with me. I feel fortunate to have been a small part of her wish, and I know the whole town feels the same.”

To read more about Annie's experience, see her full story here.