LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — Zoo Miami has been closed for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But it made a very special exception for a Loxahatchee girl battling brain cancer.
“They haven’t seen people in months so it’s going to be like Jadyn the princess has arrived, it’s fantastic,” said Ron Magill, a wildlife expert at Zoo Miami.
Zoo Miami opening exclusively for eight-year-old Jadyn Blanco of Loxahatchee to grant her a very special wish.
“It’s been a dream come true. She never expected the whole zoo to be open just for her,” said Jadyn's aunt, Jenny Blanco.
Jenny said Jadyn has loved animals since she was a little girl. She watched the zoocademy series by Miami zoo's wildlife expert Ron Magill while undergoing six weeks of radiation treatment for a mass doctors detected on her brain stem. Jadyn wanted a chance to meet her wildlife hero.
“I was kind of nervous,” she said.
Magill said this is the first time in the zoo's history it’s opened its doors just for one person and it was with every minute of it.
“To have a young lady like this wanna meet me is one of the greatest compliments you can get,” said Magill.
Norman Wedderburn, Make-A-Wish Southern Florida President, and CEO said Friday was a very special day.
"It takes a complete community to make one wish happen. And it’s worth it because forever we change the life of a sick child,” he said.
Jadyn is also a brave little girl.
“Every day she would show up to treatment with a positive attitude and even when she was scared, she was still brave enough to go through and still have a smile on her face,” said her aunt Jenny.
From feeding giraffes to elephants and chimps and even getting up close and personal to a 12-foot python, it was a dream come true.