Little cowboy at Texas Children's gets special birthday surprise, a chance to meet a real cowboy

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A little cowboy had a very special birthday at Texas Children's Hospital. Jackson Ward has been waiting for a new heart for the last five months.

This Sunday, he will celebrate his eighth birthday, and to help make this day extra special, his care team in the Texas Children's Hospital Cardiac Intensive Care Unit decided to make his birthday wish come true - a chance to meet a real-life cowboy.

The tractor and horse-loving, all-American little boy from Cleveland, Texas, spent the afternoon with Cody Teel, a world champion bull rider who drove in from College Station to visit Jackson.

"I was able to make the trip and meet him. He's a really cool kid, grew up in the country, and enjoys cattle and stuff. We kind of have a lot in common, so just get to talk about bull riding and all of his stuff back home. It was pretty cool. And just always glad I had the opportunity to come meet him and hang out," said Teel.

The two cowboys chatted about Jackson's family ranch in Cleveland, and Jackson showed Cody pictures of his pet cow Isty, who he bottle-fed as a calf.

Cody shared videos from his recent bull-riding competitions and gifted Jackson some cool bull riding swag.

Jackson's care team shared that he was on cloud nine for the rest of the day, telling all his nurses about the famous cowboy he got to meet.