Teen with rare bone cancer builds her own 'dragon', thanks to Make-A-Wish
It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a dragon!
A 14-year-old battling cancer has made her childhood fantasy come true by becoming the owner of her own specially made dragon.
Belle Cress, who is battling a rare form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma, only had one wish -- to have her own pet dragon.
And while many of us might have wished for our own pet dragon growing up, thanks to the Make-A-Wish foundation, Belle has actually made her dream a reality.
"It's as close as a dragon can be," Belle told "Make-A-Wish America."
The organization shared the teen's dream with Colorado-based company Arrow Electronics, who spent the past 18 months bringing Belle's fantasy to life.
"She had a very clear idea of what she wanted her dragon to be and to look like and behave and honestly, we nailed that," Joe Verrengia, Corporate Social Responsibility Director at Arrow Electronics said.
The electronics company used a special kind of technology to create the "social robot," helps the invention recognize Belle's presence.
"We're talking about ... three feet long, two feet high, 17 pounds of technology that makes somebody's life better," said Verrengia.
After a year of hard work and determination, Belle was finally able to meet her new pet dragon face-to-face. And in true Make-A-Wish fashion, the first introduction was done in style at a majestic 15th century-styled castle.
While Belle thought she was just going to the castle to have a virtual meetup with her pet dragon, the teen was surprised when she took off her VR set to find it perched right next to her.
The teen said she felt "happy" after seeing her dragon for the first time. "I love it."
