Camp Casey surprises 4-year-old cancer survivor with Horse House Call

Horse waiting outside Rochester Hills home of 4-year-old Alex Eshelman

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – A camp that provides horseback riding programs for children with cancer surprised a child in remission with a special visitor Saturday.

As part of Camp Casey's 50th Horsey House Call a real live horse was waiting outside the Rochester Hills home of 4-year-old Alex Eshelman.

"Camp Casey surprises kids who are living with cancer with a knock on the door and a horse at their doorstep," said executive director and founder of the camp Molly Reeser.

Eshelman is currently in remission from Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. As part of the surprise, little Alex opened the door to his home to find the horse grazing on the lawn.

Detroit Pistons Mascot Hooper was on hand to help Camp Casey pulls off the surprise.

"It's really a nice activity, he's smiling and laughing," said father Ed Eshelman. "It was a great surprise for sure and he's all smiles this morning, in fact this morning he was maybe a little tired, maybe a little down but he looks like he's having a great time now."

--4-year-old Alex and Hooper

Camp Casey is a 501 C3 nonprofit horseback riding program for children with cancer in Michigan.

Thanks to generous local sponsors and fund raising efforts the camp is able to provide all of its horseback riding programs cost-free to families facing a pediatric cancer diagnosis.

"It's so nice to be able to come into these families' lives and to be able to provide a little bit of respite for them during a difficult time in their lives," said Reeser. "Horses are very magical animal."