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Season Of Hope: A Wish For Kate

WESTBROOK, Minn. (WCCO) - In this week's "Season of Hope," WCCO takes a trip back to Westbrook.

In October, John Lauritsen went to a fund-raiser for Kate Jorgenson, An 11-year-old girl who lost her left arm in a farming accident last summer.

On one of the snowiest nights of the year, John returned to deliver a big surprise to Kate and her family.

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It wasn't exactly over the river and through the woods to get to Kate Jorgenson's house this time. It was more like 4 1/2 hours of blustery snow and icy roads.

Even the world's worst Santa Claus couldn't screw up the surprise we had in store.

The last time we saw the Jorgensons - Jim, Nikki, Jack and Kate - was in October, when the Westbrook-Walnut Grove volleyball team held a fundraiser for the family.

It was our first chance to talk with them after Kate lost her left arm in a farm accident on June 17, a day that was still very difficult to talk about.

And that's why we wanted to come back, and add a little something extra to their Christmas.

There were iPods, iPads, $200 gift cards, a camera and a Lego set for Jack. But for Kate, we had something a little more special.

During October's fundraiser, everyone wore orange shirts with a saying that Kate came up with: "Don't tell me the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon."

We thought since she already had a shirt with the quote, we'd have it engraved on a Pandora necklace.

Also, the Jorgenson received four tickets to see The Wizard of Oz at the Ordway Theater in St. Paul. It's a show that Kate has wanted to go to ever since she saw the TV commercial, according to her mother Nikki.

For Kate, challenges still lie ahead. But for her family, the greatest gift of all is the spirit she carries within.

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Thanks to the generous support from our friends at Slumberland and Pandora Jewelry.

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