If given the chance to have any wish granted, what would you ask for?

Some people might ask for a million dollars. Many kids would ask for the latest and greatest video game system or a trip to Disney World.

But when the Kids Wish Network gave Natalie Ledford, 13, that chance, she wished to meet famed NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.

At first glance, the North Hall Middle School seventh-grader looks perfectly normal. Her long blonde hair sways about her shoulders and her eyes light up when she talks about fast cars.

It's no wonder that when Natalie's wish was granted Oct. 24 and she met "Junior" himself at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, after autographing numerous memorabilia, Earnhardt sensitively inquired, "So, what's wrong with you?"

"I gave him a demo model of a pacemaker defibrillator combo unit, the same size as the one in my chest," she recalls. "I told him, ‘You know how your car has a back-up electrical system? Well, this is my back-up electrical system.'"

Natalie's mother, Cricket Ledford, said Natalie has long QT syndrome, an abnormal heart rhythm that can cause sudden cardiac arrest.

"It's kind of like an electrical shortage in a light switch," Cricket explained. "You never know when it's going to go out, and when that happens, she passes out."

Natalie first suffered fainting spells when she was 6. It wasn't until she was 9 that she was diagnosed with long QT syndrome and had an internal pacemaker implanted.

The Clermont resident is in good health these days, and said the meeting with Earnhardt was all that she had dreamed. She even had the opportunity to venture into the NASCAR garage and take a trip to the winner's circle.

At the track, she also met other stars of NASCAR, including NASCAR champions Jimmy Johnson and Richard Petty.

"When I saw Jimmy Johnson giving an interview for the radio, I was like, ‘Oh my God, Mom! It's Jimmy Johnson!'" Natalie said.

"He was the only one she got star struck over," Ledford said of Johnson.

Natalie's grandmother, Doris Ledford, became an advocate for Natalie and other students with heart issues when she got $2,200 worth of defibrillators for schools in Hall County.

Natalie was diagnosed with the heart disorder in 2004, and she was the impetus behind Doris' goal of getting an automated external defibrillator installed in nearly every Hall County elementary school, including Wauka Mountain Elementary, which was Natalie's school at the time. The machines can be used to resuscitate someone suffering from cardiac arrest.

Natalie said she hopes the machines are never used, but if necessary, at least the schools have them now.

"It makes me feel really good to know that I could have a part in saving somebody's life," she said.