It was a wish for a prayer that led Santa to meet 13-year-old Ally Obney at Akron Children’s Hospital Tuesday afternoon.
Santa was visiting the Tree Festival at the John S. Knight Center a day before Thanksgiving and received a special request made by Kennedy Filipczak, a third grade student at St. Joesph Parish School in Cuyahoga Falls. Filipczak asked Santa to send a prayer to Ally who was in the hospital recovering from a rare brain bleed, called arteriovenous malformation.
Ally's mother, Lorri Obney, posted a update on Facebook in which she documented her daughter's journey.
The request was hard to forget, which led Santa to Akron Children’s Hospital, with gifts in hand, to visit Ally for the first time. It also happened to be Ally’s final rehab appointment after six weeks in recovery.
Santa received a prayer request from a Kennedy Filipczak (right) just before Thanksgiving. She asked for a prayer for Ally Obney, 13, (left) who suffered a rare brain bleed. Today, Ally’s family says prayers have been answered. @wkyc https://t.co/qvKLUQMxFv pic.twitter.com/aN2IHWngu2
— Amani Abraham (@AmaniAbraham) December 19, 2017
Ally, an 8th grader at St. Joesph Parish, will be attending Hoban High School in the fall of 2018.