Georgia girl with rare genetic disorder surprised with donated playground

Covington family grateful for donated playground

The family called the tree service hoping to make some space for a tire swing, but what they got was so much more.

COVINGTON, Ga. - With more families confined at home, backyard playgrounds have become popular home projects.

The Ingram family of Covington hoped to clear a couple of trees and add a tire swing for their two kids - 5-year-old Arria and 1-year-old Hollis.

But when the owner of the tree service came to give them a quote, he decided he wanted to do much more.

FOX 5 first introduced our viewers to Arria about two years ago. She was born with a rare genetic disorder that's already meant two amputations and, sadly, is now threatening to shut down her organs.

Arria is a tough little girl, she's currently undergoing experimental chemotherapy to hopefully slow down the genetic growth from Cloves Syndrome.

Sign up for FOX 5 email alerts

"She's doing pretty well. She gets tired and rests, but I mean, she just wants to play," Arria's mom Kallie Ingram said.

When the family called Benny Williams with Benny's Tree Service to give them a quote about clearing a few trees, he met Arria and was moved to tears.

"When we got ready to leave, I got in the car and she started crawling up the front steps and I saw she didn't have part of her leg," Williams said. "From that point until I got to my next job to look at I cried all the way."

The grandfather said he immediately wanted to help turn their backyard into a dream playground.

"I called Brian and I said, 'Hey I got a good deal on a small swing set and we want to put it in for y'all,' but I didn't tell them how big it was," Williams said.

Arria's dad Brian Ingram said he was so thankful and that Benny "stepped up in a way we could have never imagined."

The giant playground has become a safe haven for the whole family - a place to forget the doctor visits, chemo, and medical bills.

And for Benny, it's been a blessing too.

"I wish I had the video of her hopping up and down on that one leg as they were putting it together," he said.

Now a thank you card from Arria greets him each morning on his fridge.

"That's what I see every morning when I get ready to fix my breakfast is that card," Williams said. "That reminds me to pray for them and their family."