As her mother knelt down and explained that the bubblegum-pink fishing boat in the parking lot was for her, the look on little Hallie Koenigs' face turned from confusion to excitement.

She began jumping up and down, stopping only to run toward her new boat. Family and volunteers cheered as she inspected the bright pink vinyl wrap, emblazoned with the boat's name, "Hallie's Wish."

"I think when she took off running, it was like she liked all of everything and dropped all of her guards that she had up," said Hallie's mother, Kacie Koenigs. "She knew that it was for her and about her."

At a surprise event Friday with family and community volunteers, Hallie — a 4-year-old cancer patient from Riceville — was gifted the boat in front of the Make-A-Wish Iowa office in Urbandale.

Hallie loves fishing, and goes on a fishing trip every August with her siblings and parents, Allen and Kacie Koenigs.

"Hallie went through a lot of her treatment during COVID. Family couldn't be around, it was a lot of one-on-one with mom and Hallie," Allen Koenigs said. "So this (the boat) allows us to get more family time together, and really get to spend some good days with her while we can."

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The project came together with the help of many community members, including a volunteer who traveled to the upper peninsula of Michigan to pick up the boat, Vision Signs, which provided the custom pink vinyl, and Scheels, which provided Hallie with all the fishing gear she would need.  

"It means more than we could even describe," Kacie Koenigs said. "And we will be forever grateful for all the people that played a role in getting the boat, putting the vinyl wrap on, getting it exactly the way she wanted."

It was a monumental occasion for the 4-year-old, who has spent most of her life in and out of hospitals.  

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In June 2019, just before Hallie's first birthday, her parents noticed a large lump on her lower back. A series of doctors and tests later, she had a diagnosis: Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive cancer that affects soft tissue like muscles. 

Hallie spent a year in and out of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, receiving chemotherapy, platelet transfusions and scans.

The treatment appeared to work. However, at a regular scan in April 2021, her parents' worst fears were realized. Doctors had found a new tumor.

"She had a maintenance period for six months, and then three months off of her maintenance period, she relapsed again," Kacie Koenigs said. 

It was back to the hospital for more chemotherapy, radiation and transfusions. Hallie finished radiation in October 2021 and had her last frontline chemotherapy treatment in February 2022.

After Hallie's relapse, and in between many doctor's appointments and treatments, the Koenigs got in touch with Make-A-Wish Iowa, which worked with the family to surprise Hallie with the perfect wish. 

"We've been working on this for a good six months," Allen Koenigs said. "We're very excited to see it all come together."

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In total, the 4-year-old has received 42 rounds of frontline chemotherapy, her mother said. Hallie again was able to start a daily oral chemo maintenance medication, and her most recent scans show the medication has been working. 

"This is the most normal we've seen her and the best she's looked and done and felt in a long time," Kacie Koenigs said

Hallie is one of about 150 children who will have a wish granted by Make-A-Wish Iowa this year, said Lexi Konig, Make-A-Wish Iowa spokesperson.   

The Make-A-Wish Foundation was created in 1980 with the guiding principle that "a wish experience can be a game-changer for a child with a critical illness," according to its website.

The Iowa chapter of Make-A-Wish celebrated its 4,000th wish granted in March 2020. Patients are typically referred to Make-A-Wish Iowa through someone on their medical team, such as a doctor, nurse or social worker, Konig said. 

"Once it gets to our office, once those approvals are made, we'll meet with the family and our volunteers and kind of discuss her (the child's) favorite things and any ideas she had, kind of starting that brainstorming process," Konig said. "Once that's determined, our team here in Urbandale works diligently on making that happen."

Make-A-Wish is able to fulfill wishes because of the generosity of volunteers, community partners and donors. Hallie's wish was funded by a local family, who were in attendance as she received her new pink boat. 

"They attended our Des Moines gala in May and rose their paddle to fund a full wish, so this is the wish that we paired them with," Konig said.

Volunteers and community partners are what make the work of Make-A-Wish possible, Konig said. Find volunteer opportunities at wish.org/iowa/volunteer.  

Grace Altenhofen is a staff writer for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at galtenhofen@registermedia.com or on Twitter @gracealtenhofen.