Reagan Makes a Wish Come True : Cancer: La Habra girl gets her chance to chat with the former President as part of a program to help ill children.

Eight-year-old Laurel Eernisse walked out of Ronald Reagan’s Century City office Tuesday beaming.

“I wouldn’t mind if he was my grandpa,” she said, elated after exchanging stories, questions and jelly beans with the former President.

For Laurel, who has leukemia that is now in remission, the visit with Reagan was a wish fulfilled. The Orange County chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation had offered to grant the La Habra girl a wish a few weeks ago, and Laurel, who watches the evening news almost every night, chose to meet Reagan.

The foundation, which fulfills the wishes of children who have terminal or life-threatening illnesses, selected Laurel on the recommendation of her physician and a social worker. Her cancer was discovered in March, but after about four weeks of treatment, doctors found that her disease had gone in remission. Her parents, Karin and David, said her prognosis is excellent.

Laurel had a list of questions on her mind to ask Reagan, who told her he was proud to be the object of her wish.

Dressed in a violet shirt and white blouse, Laurel sat face-to-face with Reagan and rattled off several inquiries, one of which was what were the best and worst parts of being President.

“You had so many opportunities to help people,” Reagan said as he sat next to her on an armchair. “You have the ability to marshal forces if help is required.”

The worst, he said, were in the times of tragedy “when you had to report to families that some member of their families wouldn’t be coming home.”

Then Reagan had a question for her. What did she want to be when she grew up?

She told Reagan that she wanted to be a veterinarian.

“My golly,” Reagan said. “One day maybe I can get you to come and help my horse.”

For Laurel, the visit, albeit short, turned out to be what she wanted. She described Reagan just as she had pictured him before the visit.

“He’s very, very nice,” she said. “Nicest man I ever met.”