A Central Texas high school senior received a surprise at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo when he was gifted a Brahman heifer. Brady Barton, 17, arrived at the NRG Center with his family, expecting to be a guest. Instead, a judge announced that one of the cattle he had just helped judge now belonged to him. "I just always, since I was itty bitty, wanted to be around cows," Brady told KHOU. "I just always wanted a Brahman heifer. A real fancy one."
Make-A-Wish and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo granted Brady Barton’s wish, gifting him a Brahman heifer. “Just blessed, I blacked out for a little bit, but I'm back to normal now,” Barton said, according to KHOU. Diagnosed with lymphoma at 15 following an emergency appendectomy, he is now 17 and cancer-free. Looking ahead, he plans to continue raising cattle. “It’s something I’m probably going to remember for the rest of my life,” he said, as stated by Houston Chronicle
Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast & Louisiana partnered with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to fulfill Brady’s unique wish. “We get wishes for kids every single day that just absolutely surprised me when I saw that Brady had wished for a cow. You know, there was really only one call I could make, and that was to the rodeo,” said Shelly Millwee, CEO of Make-A-Wish Gulf Coast & Louisiana, as reported by KHOU.
Brady Barton, a young cattle enthusiast battling lymphoma, received an 18-month-old grey Brahman heifer at the Houston rodeo through Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast & Louisiana. The heifer was provided by Brandon and Rachel Cutrer of Ranch House Designs Inc. Michelle Mason, the foundation’s director of marketing and communications, said, "It was truly a very spectacular, life-changing day, and just to be able to see Brady’s reaction and the smile that he had on his face when he realized that he was going to be able to take home this heifer was just the cherry on top." She also stated, "At Make-Wish we are with these children from the moment they’re referred to us through the moment their wishes our granted and beyond." Brady has been involved in cattle showing for eight years and lives on his family's 65-acre land, as mentioned by Houston Chronicle.
