Malika Wood is turning 16 on June 15 and she has just one wish. She isn’t asking for a car. She’s not even asking to get her driver’s license. What Malika is asking for her Sweet 16th, is to meet her hero, Peyton Manning.

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Malika, who resides in Leesburg, suffers from spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, a condition that causes muscle stiffness predominantly in her legs.

Meeting the former Indianapolis Colts quarterback, who now plays for the Denver Broncos, has been Malika’s dream since she was 8 years old. “I started watching football then and he’s been my favorite football player ever since,” she explained of her desire to meet the quarterback. “He’s the best quarterback … he has good looks, he knows his football and he’s a good mentor.”

The Leesburg girl calls Manning “my favorite hero” and has a wish to travel to Denver, Colo., to meet Manning in person since he now plays for the Broncos. “I’ve never been to Colorado and I want to go there, too,” said Malika, although she said she does not care to wait for football season. “I really want to meet him sooner.”

Malika had the first of her five surgeries at the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis when she was in the fourth grade. The surgeries are necessary due to the spastic diplegic cerebral palsy that affects her muscles. She is actually set to have another surgery this summer to realign her right kneecap, which sets too high. Along with that, the disease itself already affects her muscles and makes it difficult for her to walk.

With the help of her mother, Malika created a YouTube video dedicated to her birthday wish to meet Peyton Manning, who is not only her “favorite hero,” but also would be the first football player she would meet. “I’m really good with birthdays and numbers,” Malika said, noting that Manning is “35, his birthday is the 24th of March, he’s 6 foot 2 and very skinny, which is awesome! He also likes to donate to kids hospitals, especially for special needs kids, and helps kids with disabilities. I like that, and I like watching him.”

Malika said that, while she is still an Indianapolis Colts fan, the team where she first found her hero, she is also now a Broncos fan “because of him. On Sept. 22nd they play against the Colts,” she added. “I’ll cheer for the Broncos because of him.”

While she is sure there are many people who want to meet Manning, Malika said it’s her sense of humor, the fact that she gets good grades and has nearly perfect attendance despite her disability, that should give her the slight edge in his meet and greet opportunities. “If I get to meet him, I would have a big smile and probably scream and yell his name,” she explained. “I would thank him for meeting meet and ask for his autograph and a photo of him. Then I would tell him he’s my favorite hero and I always wear his (jersey) number (18).”