"When I got the dog, I just couldn’t help but smile,” says Katie Williams.
All she ever wanted was a puppy.
In the face of one of life’s toughest battles, a group of friends, past and present, along with their co-workers made her wish come true.
Katie Williams started asking her husband for a dog a while ago.
When she was recently diagnosed with cancer, that dream had to be put on hold.
That’s when others took the matter into their own hands.
9&10’s Cody Boyer met Katie and those who made her dog dreams a reality.
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"I’ve wanted a dog for a while but Kyle was kind of reluctant at that,” Katie says.
All Katie ever wanted was a dog like this one to come home to, until she found out she had cancer.
“They did an ultrasound and they found a mass on my right ovary,” Katie says. “It ended up being malignant."
“She’s kind of had to go through some pretty big health issues since then, including chemo and some surgeries,” says Kyle Williams, Katie’s husband.
Kyle manages lifeguards at the Kenwood Beach in Cadillac.
Word spread quickly, and one of his employees, Trevor Thiebaut, had a plan.
“We thought of the idea, okay, lets buy them a dog and surprise Katie,” Thiebaut says. “I started talking to some people and everybody started pitching in money like no problem."
“They found out that Katie had wanted a dog because Trevor had actually brought his puppy over and her reaction was the same,” Kyle says. “It was oh, my gosh, a puppy."
Meanwhile, Kyle kept Katie busy with photos of a certain golden-doodle while she was in the hospital.
“He was showing me pictures during my chemo treatments,” Katie says. “I was kind of down, tired. When he was showing them to me, I was getting all excited."
Donations exceeded expectations, making Katie’s wish come true in the form of Maggie…that same golden-doodle.
"The Manton basketball coach, various cross-country alumni, some current and past life guards, some friends of Katie, even one of my friends who is in the Marines sent money overseas,” Thiebaut says.
The moment was captured in a Facebook video.
“When I got the dog, I just couldn’t help but smile,” Katie says.
“It’s going to change our lives, really,” Kyle says. “In the future, when someone else needs help, we’ll be right there to help them with something. Just pass it on."
“I just know that it’s definitely made this journey easier and I know that now if there is somebody that needs help, that I’m willing to be there for them,” Katie says.
Katie says she has one more wave of chemo to go.
If you would like to help Katie with any of her medical expenses, take a look at .
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