Medora Wish granted

The first-ever wish was granted Friday night at the Medora Musical through the brand new Medora Wish Endowment.

John Wright of South Dakota has dealt with seizures his whole life and is only able to communicate through gestures. But this weekend, he experienced Medora and the badlands on an all expense paid trip.

The Medora experience is one of a kind, and Friday night, John Wright was taking it in for the first time. And he didn't waste any time making new friends, some of which were responsible for bringing him to town.

"They wouldn't get opportunities like this, you know, if people wouldn't lend a hand and help out," said Louise Bauernfeind.

John can only communicate through physical gestures. But his caretaker Louise says he loves music, and when he saw pictures and videos of the area, he lit up.

"He was excited, he was smiling," said Bauernfeind.

The chance for the all expenses paid trip came through the Medora Wish Endowment. It was started by Don Clemente and friend Mike Zahn and their wives. Clemente said he and Zahn were out hunting when they came up with the idea.

"We were talking in the hunting cabin about what we really need to do to keep Medora going, and we came up with whats called the Medora Wish," said Clemente.

Clemente was on hand to see Wright take in the experience.

"I didn't realize that he recognized that i was a person to grab his hand and so that was pretty special," said Clemente.

He says they hope to continue offering an all expenses paid trip for at least one person a year going forward.