Dying 9-year-old asked for one last Christmas celebration in summer — within 6 days, neighbors pulled together a miracle
Last wishes mean everything to a grieving family and no matter how impossible it might seem, they give their all to make it happen. When Alyssa and Joe Zachmann, parents of 9-year-old Kasey Zachmann with terminal brain cancer, learned their daughter had a few weeks to live, they knew it had to be special, per TODAY. Since the girl loved Christmas, her family and neighbors decided to pull off a Christmas miracle in June so the girl could have the best one ever. It is a bittersweet core memory that will stay in their hearts forever. Kasey was diagnosed with medulloblastoma — a brain cancer, at the age of 5.
Ever since, she’d been having surgeries and treatment but the cancer spread over time. In June, her parents learned that she had a few weeks to live. They knew they had to give the girl the best few weeks of her life and chose to celebrate her diagnosis day, June 28, as Christmas Day. “I was trying to think of fun things that we could do for Kasey to build memories. We thought it would be amazing to give her the chance to celebrate Christmas one last time,” the mom remarked, per Bethesda Magazine. She added how her daughter loved the idea of Christmas and spent her time watching Christmas movies like “Home Alone,” and listening to Christmas songs and carols.
Despite being half a year away from the seasonal holiday, the parents were determined to bring Christmas to their little girl. In order to make it as vibrant and memorable as possible, the parents asked their neighbors to pitch in. They requested them to put up lights on their houses and light up the area. "This week will be incredibly hot and not the best climate for putting up lights, but we're not sure how much time we have,” a neighbor, Alison Goradia, noted, per NBC News. With six days’ notice, the neighbors got to work. They weren’t sure what the results would look like, but they gave it their all.
They knew that if it worked out, they’d have made a last wish come true and a life-long memory for the Zachmanns. “All the neighbors were out there sweating as we hung the Christmas lights,” the parents recalled. Over 270 families pitched in and decorated the neighborhood to make it light up, per The Washington Post. The final results of their hard work were revealed. With all decorations and lights, out and up mid-year, it really did feel like Christmas. “It was magical. We tried to get to every single house, so it took us two hours to drive around,” Alyssa remarked.
“People were standing out in the rain, waiting to cheer us on. There are no words to describe how incredible everyone is,” she added. People even set up virtual arrangements to donate and share gifts to make Christmas even more authentic for Kasey. Firefighters from several departments made their way in their trucks with wishes, gifts, lights and more. Even Santa made his way to wish Kasey. Goradia noted, “This moment matters more than anything else going on. This moment matters so much, not just to this sweet little girl, who’s fighting for her life literally, but for her family, who will have this memory forever.”