Sometimes wishes really do come true.

Seven-year-old Gracie Dennis had her wish granted Sunday by Make-A-Wish Mississippi.

“I had no idea,” Dennis said.

The Junior Auxiliary of Vicksburg, along with Dennis’ friends and family, gathered at Crossway Church Sunday afternoon to present Gracie with the camper she wished her family could have for vacations.

“I didn’t want to stay in a cabin,” Dennis said. “A camper is more fun.”

The second grade student at Mt. Salus Christian School said she has been waiting a long time for this camper, and the first place she wants to go is Wyoming.

“It has glaciers and all kinds of stuff,” Dennis said.

She said her family have already been saving up for the trip.

“We’ve been out there before and she loves it out there,” mom Becky said. “She also wants to go to Disney World.”

Becky said her daughter asked for the camper a year ago, but she had been talking about it long before then. Gracie, her mom said, likes to watch television shows that feature campers and thinks it’s neat to have a bed and shower on wheels.

“I hope having the travel trailer we’ll get to make lots of memories,” Becky said.

Gracie was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth.

“It’s a genetic disease that causes the mucus to be thicker. It affects the respiratory track and the digestive track mainly but many other organs,” Becky said.

She said with the camper Gracie can set up her own environment on vacation, and the family won’t have to move breathing treatment equipment into hotel rooms. Becky said Gracie does breathing treatments and takes medicines daily.

“We found out after she was born that she had it. Nobody in our family’s ever had it so we didn’t even know what it was until she was born,” Becky said.

Audrey Vaughn was Gracie’s nurse at the cystic fibrosis clinic when she was diagnosed as a newborn, and Vaughn really connected with Gracie’s mother.

“I was one of the first ones to talk to Becky and the family after we told her that the test was positive and she had CF,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn’s daughter, Ansley, is six months older than Gracie and they became friends. A few years ago, Vaughn’s family moved to Ohio but continued to stay in touch with the Dennis family and was able to fly back to Vicksburg for this special day.

“The girls have always played together, and they’ve been best friends ever since they met,” Vaughn said. “We decided we had to come down and be apart of it.”

She called Gracie a “world-changer.”

The bubbly girl with a constant smile was incredibly surprised to see the camper in the church parking lot surrounded by the large group of supporters. She looked inside the camper in amazement at the new pillows, sleeping bag, television, dolls, tea set, dishes and utensils that adorned her new home away from home.

After the big reveal, the party moved inside with fruit and s’more treats, bracelet making, a go-fish game and pillowcase decorating as acoustic guitar music was played around the camp fire.

“I’ve done the pillowcases, and I’ve looked at the fire,” Dennis said. “I’ve got to finish doing my pillowcase now.”

The JA’s of Vicksburg and Make-A-Wish chair Melissa Smithhart, planned the Camp Gracie themed party after Make-A-Wish raised the money through donations and fundraising events.

Megan Ford, program services manager for Make-A-Wish Mississippi in Ridgeland, said anyone can refer a child with a life threatening medical condition by calling the office at 601-366-9474 or visiting ms.wish.org.