Wish granted! Local teen fighting brain cancer creates designer handbag

CINCINNATI - You could say she has a passion for fashion. And thanks to The Make-A-Wish Foundation, her dreams of designing are coming true.

Fourteen-year-old Abigail Gebauer is recovering from brain cancer. Throughout her battle with the disease, she endured four rounds of chemo and 30 treatments of radiation. But on Thursday, it wasn't about her sickness. It was about celebrating the one-of-a-kind experience of launching her very own designer purse.

In July 2009, Gebauer made her "wish" to design a trendy bag that would hang in the world's fashion capital, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. This past January, she and her family made the trip out to Los Angeles to visit with bebe founder and CEO, Manny Mashouf.

Abigail said she was thrilled to have her ideas come to life. "I can never find the exact purse I want in the stores, it's always like too big or too small, or the wrong color. And I thought if I was a designer, I could pick the exact purse I wanted, the way I wanted it and everything."

Now, six months later, her design has officially hit bebe's shelves. The Abigail Handbag is available at all 213 stores and online. But even more spectacular? The Abigail line is hanging in the place she hoped it would: the bebe storefront window on Rodeo Drive. "It's awesome," said Gebauer during the launch at Kenwood Towne Centre. "This is way above and beyond what I ever wished for. I'm so excited. I'm so thankful."

A limited number of The Abigai are being sold by bebel. Visit bebe.com for more information.