For Isabella, a 5-year-old from Clintonville, and her family, Sunday, May 4 was a special day.
The day marked the first step of Make-A-Wish Wisconsin granting Isabella’s wish of meeting a princess at Walt Disney World.
Isabella, or just Bella, qualifies for a wish due to her life-threatening medical condition.
At 12:30 p.m. a horse drawn carriage arrived at Bella’s parent’s house in Clintonville.
Prior to the arrival of the horse-drawn carriage, Bella’s father, Dan Lundt, said Bella was really excited and had a clue as to what was about to happen.
When Bella saw the horses and carriage, it was easy to see the excitement on her face. Dressed as a princess, Bella was all smiles as she walked toward the carriage. As she got closer, she urged her three sisters, who were also dressed as princesses, to make their way to the carriage.
Lundt said each of the children got a new dress for the occasion. Bella’s contained the color orange as that is her favorite color.
With the four children in the carriage as well as Lundt’s wife, Sandy, Bella urge her father into the carriage. Once in the carriage, the family began the journey to McDonalds. During the journey some residents gathered along the side of the street to wish Bella a happy journey.
The sign outside McDonalds welcomed “Princess Bella.” After lunch at McDonald’s, Bella and her family once again gathered in the horse drawn Cinderella carriage for a journey to the Clintonville Community Center. There, the family celebrated with cake, ice cream, family and friends.
“The Make-A-Wish foundation is doing a fine job,” Lundt said. “The small details they’ve done for her, it’s remarkable.”
Bella and her family will soon depart for Walt Disney World to meet princesses. The trip will begin with a limousine ride to the airport and a flight to Orlando. They will stay at a village that was created specifically for wish families. Special activities will be planned for each day of the week.
“We want to say thank you to Make-A-Wish for doing this for Bella, and for all the people who have supported her,” Lundt said. “It goes from the county workers who first brought Bella to us, to the judge who we went through for the adoption, to family and friends and the whole community. It’s great.”
Lundt was also grateful to his employer, Dan Wolff at H & S Steinberg Manufacturing who supplied him with an extra week of paid vacation to help make the wish happen.
The whole experience has been special for the Lundt family.
“It’s phenomenal. It’s almost unspeakable. I don’t have words to describe it all,” he said.