A WISH COME TRUE: TERMINALLY ILL CHILD GIVEN SHOPPING SPREE

Roneisha Box was all eyes and smiles as she wound her way through the aisles of Toys R Us Sunday morning.

Roneisha, who turned 5 over the weekend, is terminally ill. Sunday was her first trip to the toy store and the first stop in a day of wishes made possible by the Fulfill A Wish Foundation.

"She's never been to Toys R Us before, and that's the one thing she wanted to do," said Sophia Ohrablo of the foundation. "She is such a beautiful child, and her wish was so easy to make happen. It was a joy."

Ohrablo said the organization, which fulfills wishes for children ages 3 to 18 who have life-threatening illnesses, contacted several Cape Girardeau businesses to help Roneisha celebrate her birthday in grand style.

As a result, Roneisha and her parents, Shawn and Teresa Box, were picked up at their home in Cairo, Ill., by Kelley Limousine and driven to Toys R Us.

There, Roneisha was greeted by a Barbie lookalike, a clown and store employees who helped her collect several shopping carts full of toys, games, books and even batteries on a special shopping spree.

"We've had so many kids in here who've been here lots of times. But seeing her see Toys R Us for the first time, it's like seeing Toys R Us for the first time all over again," said Sheila Jordan, who organized the shopping spree.

"The look of awe in her face -- there's just no better cause than that," she said.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Roneisha didn't run haphazardly through the toy store. Instead, she walked methodically up and down aisles, selecting only the most necessary toys to place in her shopping cart.

Those toys, which included a Barbie doll, several board games and two Super Soaker water guns, were joined in the cart by a life-sized RugRats doll and a videotape of the movie "A Bugs Life," which were gifts from the store.

"Those were the two things she said she wanted most of all, so we decided to make those gifts so she could use her money to get other things," said Jordan.

Roneisha took several breaks in her shopping to try out toys in the store. She especially enjoyed a ball pit she encountered about halfway through her tour.

"I've got one, but I like this," she told store employees.

Roneisha and her parents were then taken by limo to a nearby McDonalds for her favorite lunch, chicken nuggets and french fries, before heading home.

Teresa Box said she had "absolutely no clue" where she would put the new toys because there were already quite a few toys in their small home. However, she said she would try to manage with the single space saver she had convinced Roneisha to include in her purchases.

"Everything she picked out were things she wanted," said Teresa Box. "I'm just glad she enjoyed this. Hopefully she'll let me do something with her old toys she doesn't play with anymore."