Make-A-Wish gives girl gift of mobility

PLAINFIELD, Conn. (WTNH) -- The family of a young girl fighting serious medical problems asked an organization to make her wish come true.

News 8 took a look at how the Make-A-Wish Foundation is making her life a little brighter.

Little Anna Boettcher is limited in how she can communicate.

"We'll know if she's sad because she'll make little grunts or something," said Steve Boettcher, father.

One thing her parents know for sure is that she enjoys being put in a pool.

"She's like very surprised and she starts to grasp and she's like what is this? And she is moving. You can see that she actually is very happy when she's in the water," said her mother, Lisa Boettcher.

Lisa and Steve first contacted the Make-A-Wish Foundation hoping to get a full size handicap accessible van because Anna and her equipment have outgrown their mini van. Make-A-Wish doesn't provide vehicles, but with this pool is providing a better quality of life for the six-year-old who has neurological issues causing a number of problems.

Anna needs oxygen in case she just stops breathing.

"She can't maintain her body temperature at all," said Steve. "She's like a lizard. Too hot, too humid, she can go into seizures. Too cold she goes into hypothermia and starts kind of shutting down."

So far Anna hasn't been able to go into the pool herself because they need to get an electrician to hook up the heater. The water for her is just a little too cold.

Lisa and Steve are hoping she'll be able to get into the pool by next weekend.

"She likes water cause it's not hard for her to move her limbs," Steve said, "good therapy and such."

Some relief for a family afraid they could lose their little girl at any time.

"It's something that we've never dreamed," Lisa said, "never dreamed that we would be able to have."

They now plan to make every moment count.