Dec 21, 2008 9:38 am US/Eastern
Postal Workers Deliver Christmas To Sick NYC Girl
Mail Carriers Deliver Gifts, Holiday Spirit To Brave Girl Fighting Cancer
John Metaxas, CBS 2 HD
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Saturday kicked off an emotional holiday for a little girl battling brain cancer.
Valeria Reyes' mailman and dozens of his coworkers pulled out all the stops this year, helping her family have one of the best Christmases ever.
It was indeed a special Christmas for a very special girl, when 11-year-old Valeria Reyes had her wish come true Saturday.
Julie – the name of her favorite American Girl doll – and other presents were packaged up and delivered to Valeria thanks to the kindness of more than 50 Manhattan postal workers.
"It's very exciting, and a very nice Christmas," Valeria said.
What makes Valeria special is that, for the last three years, she's been bravely battling brain cancer.
Uprooted from her native Puerto Rico with her parents and brothers, Valeria is now being treated at Manhattan's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Her Christmas gifts this year came courtesy of the better angels of human nature.
It all began when postal carrier Ernie Twomley was delivering mail to Valeria earlier this year.
"The little girl was coming out with her mother and screaming in pain, [so] I took her and carried her to her apartment," Twomley said. "That's when I found out she had an illness. I wanted to do something nice."
Twomley, a father himself, did something very nice – after Valeria wrote a letter, Ernie asked his coworkers to chip in to buy her the presents on her list and delivered them during a ceremony at the post office Saturday.
It was particularly emotional when she received Julie.
"There wasn't a dry eye in the place," Twomley said. "It was a feeling of what this season is about: just giving."
The incredibly kind gesture made for a great Christmas for the Reyes household.
"[It's] unforgettable, special, lovely, happy," mother Nayda Reyes said. "All the best [feelings]."
Ernie and his coworkers found all the satisfaction they needed in the smile of a brave little girl.
"Thank you a lot," Valeria said to the mail carriers. "God bless you, and have a Merry Christmas."
Valeria's parents say she is responding to treatment and they are praying for a full recovery.
If you'd like to learn more about Valeria's fight, click on "Links and Numbers" to the left side of this page.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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