Fifteen-year-old Ellie is a creative person who enjoys crafting dream catchers, looming hats, sewing and cobbling together fantastic structures made of Legos. She also likes riding horses and tending to her pet gecko.
In 2018, she was diagnosed with leukemia. “The earth seemed to have fallen right out from underneath us,” said her mother, Mariah. “Cancer seems to be something that happens to someone else, not your kid. When Ellie was told about the diagnosis, she immediately started to cry and said, ‘Doesn’t cancer kill people, Mom?’ It was a horrible day. Then as you try to work through the shock of it, reason kicks in, and your next thoughts are, ‘Okay what are we going to do now to fight this?’”
For the last two years, Ellie has fought valiantly against her illness, dutifully going to chemotherapy followed by radiation treatments. When she was given a wish, she knew that she wanted to be able to catch a break, to go somewhere where she could release all the stressful events and experiences that she had to go through.
In December of 2020, her wish to go to a quiet cabin in Island Park, Idaho for Christmas came true. Ellie and her family stayed in a remote cabin for a week at the base of a mountain surrounded by gorgeous pine trees and a lot of fresh air. The cabin had room for a dozen guests and boasted a hot tub as well as modern amenities (wi-fi, cable) and a place outside to gather around a campfire with loved ones.
Mariah said, “[Ellie] felt truly spoiled and pampered as her wish unfolded at a magical cabin in Island Park over the holidays…She has had so much to deal with and adjust to. The stress of it all has obviously affected her and her ability to relax and enjoy life. She really needed this trip.”
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