Community surprises 12-year-old girl with cancer with birthday parade

MARION, Ark. (KAIT) - Who would not want to feel special on their birthday?

Especially, when the last few birthdays have been really hard.

“That felt like a dream,” birthday girl Abi Blankenship said.

Blankenship was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare bone and soft tissue cancer, in 2016.

“She celebrated these last four birthdays with cancer,” Abi’s mom, Jamie Swain, said.

But, for a little while on Thursday, that diagnosis took a back seat, thanks to an idea from her big sister, Kara.

“She did a Facebook invite and was like, hey, does anybody want to do a parade for Abi’s birthday, because we need to really respect social boundaries,” Swain said.

So, family, friends, and her community threw her a surprise.

“So this was the best thing that we can do to celebrate, where we knew that we wouldn’t put her at risk," Swain said.

Firefighters, EMS, police, friends, family and even her Make a Wish family drove down Allen Cove in Marion to give her the best 12th birthday anyone could ask for.

They came bearing presents, cards, and a wave.

And Abi said this birthday ranks way above the rest.

“It’s a 100,” Abi said. “From one to 12, it’s a hundred.”

Abi had a message to everyone who made this day a bit more special.

“Thank you so much, I did not expect this. Love you guys and thank you for coming or watching which ever one you are doing," Abi said.

You can follow Abi’s journey on Facebook at Abi Strong.

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