Girl battling rare form of cancer gets surprise

HOUSTON It was a heart-moving afternoon. Buca di Beppo was the site of the lunch for 12-year-old Danielle Bacon. It was a fun way to start the fall after a rough year.

Taking photos with mom and dad Monday and laughing with her friends made Danielle feel extra special during what's otherwise been a very tough year.

"Go in the hospital three times a week, and then stay in the hospital for a week to get chemo, and then I'd get out," Danielle said.

Danielle is battling brain cancer. In the past 9 months, she's had surgery, radiation, and months of chemotherapy. So on this Labor Day, there would be no doctors, no hospitals -- just some fun.

"Family and friends and people who don't even know us have opened their hearts up to us," her dad, Paul Bacon, said.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office showed up at their doorstep, ready to escort Danielle and her friends via limo to a very special lunch.

Much to the family's surprise, there were family, friends and the entire Woodlands Elite Cheer team show up to encourage their former teammate.

"Just blown away at how much love everyone's showing, so much love to our family and to Danielle and to having everything we've gone through, just having her smile today is the most incredible thing to see," said her mother, Angie Bacon.

And even Montgomery County Sheriff Tommy Gage himself came to show support.

"It's the right thing to do, sweetie," he said. "That's why I'm here."

And finally, there was a walk down the red carpet for a very special lunch. It was all planned by people who love Danielle Bacon and are praying for her recovery.

"We have to stick together as a family and just keep faith that God's going to take care of her, that he's gonna heal her, and she's gonna be OK," her sister, Julie Bacon, said.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation also has funded the family's trip to Disneyworld next weekend for a much-deserved vacation before returning home to determine the next step in her cancer treatment.