Make a Wish hits a home run for 4-year-old Sophia Robinson

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ANCHORAGE (KTUU) Sophia Robinson has had more heart surgeries than birthdays, but thanks to a little Mariner cheer, the Make a Wish Foundation waved its wand and made her dream a reality.

Sophia and Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

The Robinson family has had their fair share of struggles. Their daughter Sophia was born with a heart defect.

"Part of her condition, your aortic arch is like a candy cane, her aortic arch wasn't formed when she was born so they had to basically make her aortic arch for her," said Talia Robinson, Sophia's mom.

Sophia had her first heart surgery at just one week old and then in 2013, she was scheduled to have two more within a 90-day period.

"It was very stressful and very overwhelming and I wanted something special for her," said Talia.

That's where Make a Wish came in. After learning she was eligible, her name was added to the list and then, 4-year old Sophia got to meet her favorite athlete, Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

The two played in the dirt and even had a corn dog eating contest, which Sophia is quick to tell you, she won.

Her mom said, "The best thing about seeing the whole interaction process was this giant baseball player getting on the same level as a 4-year-old little girl."

"The whole team kind of came together and made a pretty good wish for her," added Sophia's dad Jason.

The entire family are Mariners fans, so the experience was exciting for everyone. Talia and Jason are grateful for organizations like Make a Wish for making their daughter's dream come true.

"It's a very scary situation to be in, but there are people out there depending on what the condition is, there are communities out there like Make a Wish that can make a day a week for your family special, so that you're not thinking about your medical appointments, you're not thinking about the diagnosis," said Talia.

The hope is one day Sophia's heart will be strong enough and she won't have to have any more surgeries, but only time will tell.
