KAYSVILLE -- Kaysville's Elizabeth Quigley was the recipient of a recent wish come true from the Make a Wish Foundation. Quigley, 14, is a student at Kaysville Junior High School and will be entering Davis High next year as a 10th grader. However, the road to that point hasn't been easy. In 2000 Elizabeth's biological mother, Alice, died of Hodgkin's lymphoma after battling it for three years. Elizabeth was only eight years old at the time. After Alice's death, Elizabeth's father Keith met Debbie and they immediately hit it off. "We both knew that his having kids and his wife just passing away months before wasn't an obstacle for us. We both knew that the relationship was very doable," Debbie said.

The relationship blossomed and they were married in August 2001. Debbie was able to adopt the Quigley children in March 2003.

"When Keith and I were married all the children had started some type of extracurricular activity. I think those things helped them deal with the loss of their mother and gave them a diversion. "Elizabeth began to get heavily involved in horseback riding at the hunter-jumper program at the Saltair farm in Layton," said Debbie. "It seemed to come to her so easily, she was a natural."

The competing for Elizabeth came to an abrupt end, though in 2004 at a competition in California when Debbie and Keith could tell there was something different about Elizabeth.

Nobody, not even Elizabeth, could pinpoint the issue. But, there was no denying that Elizabeth had lost her focus and concentration.

"We knew something was wrong after that California competition and we then took Liz to the doctor to check it out. That's when they diagnosed her with the lymphoma. She was going to have to start chemotherapy treatments, but they said she should still be able to do most of her everyday activities," Debbie added.

Once the chemo started Elizabeth's bones were unknowingly getting more and more brittle. The problem was finally detected and it got to the point where Elizabeth's doctor told her she wouldn't be able to ride horses again. That was some of the toughest news Elizabeth could hear.

"That was really hard for me. I wasn't really excited or upbeat anymore and that's when my hospital suggested they make a wish to the foundation. I could choose any one thing I've always wanted to do and I thought that was really cool," Elizabeth said.

Keith and Debbie weren't sure how to react when Elizabeth's nurse suggested Make a Wish. "I thought Make a Wish was only for patients who were on their death beds. Elizabeth has cancer, but she, and we, truly feel that she still has a lot more left to do in life.

"But the staff assured us that Make a Wish is for anybody suffering from a terminal illness, so we took them up on their offer," Debbie said.

Elizabeth's lifelong wish has always been to train killer whales, like the ones at Sea World. Make a Wish made that dream come true this past December when the entire Quigley family was able to fly down and spend four days in San Diego and be a "trainer" for a day.

"I've always wanted to train killer whales and the Sea World experience was so cool. I not only got to hang out with the whales, but I also got to swim with the dolphins, go out with the sea lions in the sea lion show and I also got to train the Sea World vulture. The vulture was really cool and I got to walk around the entire park with one of those leather arm gloves and the vulture just stayed right there on my arm the whole time," Elizabeth continued.

One thing that also really stayed with Elizabeth was something that one of the killer whale trainers told her.

"I said that I wanted his job and he said that once I finish veterinary school to come back down here and his job is mine," said Elizabeth. "There are still so many positive things in life, and when I look back on my four days at Sea World with my family, that never fails to motivate me more."