It's a dream come true

A big smile broke across Ariana Dibuo's face as photographs of her at a Justin Bieber concert were played on the TV in her living room.

The saucy little Lehighton girl with a serious health disorder was the recipient of a dream by Dream Come True, Blue Ridge Chapter to see Bieber in concert at the Allentown Fairgrounds.

This first grader at Ss. Peter and Paul School, Lehighton, has morphed into a Justin Bieber fan.

Ariana was eligible for a dream because she was born with dark colored nevus (birthmarks) on her back, arms and legs. The nevi are also becoming noticeable on her face.

While many people have birthmarks at birth, few have giant nevi (big pigmented moles) that cover a large area of their body.

Since so little is understood about large nevi even by doctors, her mother, Kimberly Reinert openly discusses her daughter's disorder to help people understand why her Ariana looks a little different.

She notes that the large pigmented moles are more than skin deep with Ariana. She also has been identified as having pigment cells on her brain and spinal cord, which can be fatal.

"The biggest threat we have is that Ariana is at a higher risk of skin cancer," said Reinart.

"She had a really great time at the concert," said Reinart. "From the moment she was picked up by the limousine, it was a definitely a dream come true for her."

Ariana was only 5 years old when she asked Dream Come True volunteer and President Eileen Thompson, to help her see a Justin Bieber concert.

"We knew he was coming to the Allentown Fair, but we also knew the concert was sold out," she said.

Bieber is popular. His concert for Sept. 4 at the Allentown Fair sold out in March in 23 minutes.

Ariana made her appeal to Dream Come True in April.

Knowing that the concert was sold out gave Thompson a challenge, but with the a little help from her friend Jaime Mendes, PenTeleData's chief administrative officer, Ariana's dream came true. Mendes is also a DCT board member.

The timing was also perfect because it fell close to Ariana's 6th birthday on Sept. 6.

"When we were picked up, the driver had flowers and candy, plus had sparkling cider in the car for us," she said. Ariana also selected her friend Emma Moringhoff to accompany her on her dream date. Her dad, Andrew Dibuo also chaperoned the girls to the show.

The dream, began with the limousine ride and continued throughout the day. First there was lunch at Buca di Beppo in Whitehall, and then a quick stop at Kids R Us, where Ariana bought a two-wheeled bicycle with spending money from Dream Come True. Then it was off again to enjoy the food and rides at the Allentown Fair, compliments of Dream Come True, until the true dream began of watching Bieber in concert.

Dream Come True also gifted Ariana with an iPod, which she has loaded with Bieber's tunes and photographs of herself and her friend at the concert. (There are also a few pictures of her baby sister, Naida on the iPod that she loves to show off.)

"We had really good seats," said Reinert. "Our seats were in the 20th row and were at stage level, so we had a really great view."

"This was definitely a dream come true for Ariana," said Reinert. "Who would have thought that we could get such great seats at a concert that was sold out?"

Thompson said in addition to Mendes helping out with the arrangements, she was assisted by Bonnie Charles Brosius, marketing director of the Allentown Fair, in making Ariana's dream a reality.