“Lexi” Mentzel from Mitchel, South Dakota had a dream come true on New Year’s Eve. The 16 year old won a Make-A-Wish trip to see the ball drop in New York City.

Lexi was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system, when she was 15 years old. She became cancer free about seven months prior to her trip to New York City. Lexi was being treated at Sanford Children Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota where social workers entered her name into the Make-A-Wish competition that she was went on to win.

Lexi and her family stayed three days in Midtown, New York City leading up to the New Year’s festivities. During her stay, she attended the Broadway production of “Wicked” and watched the ball drop from the 22^nd story of a building in Times Square. Prior to watching the ball drop, she attended a dinner party where she met and took pictures with the commissioners of New York City.

Lexi was also treated to a shopping spree at Macy’s in Sioux Falls in preparation for her trip to NYC. During the shopping spree, she picked out a new black coat with gold buttons to keep her warm for her trip to the Big Apple.

Lexi said she’d considered Disney Land as her destination to please her younger siblings, but she was happy that she chose to see the ball drop, as it was something she always hoped to see. Lexi said “it was a feeling of pure joy”.

Lexi said she feels endless gratitude for all that the Make-A-Wish organization did for her and her family is endless. She said the trip was a great time that allowed her to relax and truly finish off her battle with cancer. It was a nice ending to a hard trial. Lexi stressed how she would like to donate and give back to Make-A-Wish so that they can continue to make impacts on others like they did so with her.