Make-A-Wish Foundation, museum grant 9-year-old girl’s wish
By Gladys Bautista
Click here for updates on this story
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — The Kentucky Derby Museum and Make-A-Wish Foundation out of Florida joined together to make one Florida horse-lover’s dream come true.
Kori Butts is a 9-year-old from Florida who has fought an aggressive nervous system disorder since she was 4 years old.
“She was predominately right-handed, she was normal and then the on-set and then she lost control of the right side of her arm, her leg,” father Corey Butts said.
The deterioration of her mobility and speech led to continuous doctor visits.
“Years we went by, not knowing what was going to happen, how she was going to be,” Butts said. “We [saw] neurologist after neurologist just to be told, we don’t know. There was a time we were living in hospitals, bouncing from hospital to hospital, tests back to back and then having a little brother. It was rough.”
It wasn’t until Kori went to a doctor in Miami that she was able to get some help.
“It was a miracle,” Butts said. “It worked. Stopped the progression and she instantly started healing. She had to relearn how to talk and walk and write everything left-handed.”
Now, the goal is for the girl who continues to fight hard to relax and do something she loves with what she loves – horses.
The family is on their first vacation ever in the Commonwealth thanks to a partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Derby Museum.
“They (Make-A-Wish Foundation) got us an RV and set us up and gave us an itinerary and said, ‘Here you guys go, enjoy your family, don’t think about anything else but having fun’ and we’ve been enjoying ourselves every day. They (Derby Museum) have showed her things she didn’t even know about horses. She is going to get to ride a horse and be taught and trained professionally on how to be safe and ride them.”
It’s something the family said is essential and something Kori will take with her for the rest of her life.
“It’s a necessity for her to be able to get away and to be herself and not worry or think about any other doctor’s meetings and stuff,” Butts said. “For her to be a kid and really experience joy.”
The family has a few more stops before they return home later this week.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
