Dianne Odell, 57, of Jackson, the nation's longest-living polio survivor in an iron lung, made a Christmas wish and Santa listened.

''I'd like to hear Christmas music and be surrounded by my family and friends,'' she said. ''That's all I want.''

On Dec. 7, her wish will be granted. Actress Jane Seymour and her husband, James Keach, producer of the movie Walk the Line on the life of Johnny Cash, will fly in for the Holiday Tea and Cocktail Buffet Reception being held from 4 to 5:45 p.m. at Oakmont Place on Wiley Parker Road in Jackson. It will be followed by a Christmas concert at Freed-Hardeman University with Broadway performer and composer Gary Morris.

''We'd do anything to help Dianne,'' James Keach said in an phone interview from New York. ''Jane met Dianne first when she came to Jackson for her art show, and I met Dianne when I was in Tennessee for Walk the Line. She is such an amazing woman. We hope to make a movie about her life.''

Seymour added, ''We're happy to come and to raise lots of money for her care. She's the most courageous woman I've ever met. We adore her.''

Odell's family and friends from across the country will gather for ''A Christmas Homecoming'' to bring her joy and to benefit the Dianne Odell Fund of the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation. Also attending the event will be actor David Keith, whose movie in theaters is Raise Your Voice with Hillary Duff, and Stella Parton, who was named female vocalist of the year at the Christian Country Music Awards two weeks ago.

— Jacque Hillman, The Jackson Sun