79-year-old woman visits zoo for first time in 63 years, fulfills dream

ATLANTA - A 79-year-old woman fulfilled one of her dreams Friday by visiting a zoo for the first time in 63 years. Delores Dobson is a long-term bed and chair bound patient with Pruitt Home Health, but she has always loved animals. She had only been to a zoo one time in her life at 16-years-old, until Friday.

""I always wanted to go on a safari or something, which never ever happened," said Dobson. "I never had money for that kind of a thing"

Dobson has suffered from multiple simultaneous chronic diseases for many years. She is also oxygen dependent. The members of nonprofit Second Wind Dreams wanted to make sure she got a chance to see her favorite animals, pandas and elephants.

"Oh gosh it was wonderful. This tops everything," said Dobson.

She has been dreaming of going to Zoo Atlanta for years, but her current condition makes it a taxing effort to get there. The nurses at Pruitt Home Health worked very hard to make sure she had everything she needed for her trip to the zoo to be a success.

"Oh it was breathtaking," said Dobson's nurse, Terri Fain. "Just to get to see her get close to them and feed them and then watching them do all of their hand gestures. It was cool."

Dobson is a special guest of Zoo Atlanta on this day, and they arranged a behind the scenes encounter with the father of the new panda babies.

"It really means a lot," said Dobson. "I don't know how, I couldn't pay them back. I can only say thank you."

She can go home knowing she has new furry friends from safari trip in Atlanta.

Pruitt Home Health is located in Gainesville, Georgia and is a member of Second Wind Dreams. The international non-profit organization is based in Marietta, Georgia. NGMT Inc. also helped make the day a success for Ms. Dobson.