SALT LAKE CITY – A young Utah girl with an inoperable form of cancer in her brain stem was able to have a wish fulfilled thanks to the generosity of others.
Raena-Lynn is 4 years old, and on March 19, 2013, she was diagnosed with diffused intrinsic pontine glioma.
Acelynn Brock, the child’s mother, said the prognosis isn’t positive.
“Her prognosis is bad,” she said. “It tends to be 100 percent fatal. We're just hoping for the best, but she's doing very well."
Raena-Lynn wanted to have a castle, and the Children and the Earth, a charitable organization, was among those who helped grant that wish. A castle for the girl to play in was built in the family's home.
“That room flooded, and my parents were like, ‘What are we going to do with this room?’ so we said, ‘Might as well build her a castle down there,’” Brock said.
Amber Brosig, managing trustee of Children and the Earth, said they help children who are terminally ill.
“Sadly, we’ve come across a few of our kids that are terminal, and we came up with an idea to create a bucket list--which is basically a wish list for these kids,” Brosig said.
Friends and family, as well as Children of the Earth, helped the young girl’s wish of being a princess come true.
“She likes the window,” Brock said. "She calls it her ‘Tangled’ window because just as Rapunzel leans out the window with her hair, Rae can lean out the window. I worry that she’s going to fall out one of these days. But she wants to someday grow her hair long just like Rapunzel.”
Brock said the castle helps her daughter deal with the difficulties her illness presents.
“For her to be able to do fun things, it’s made her want to fight and give her the boost of energy that she needs,” she said.
Raena-Lynn also had other wishes on her list fulfilled, including a cruise and a trip to Disneyland—where her goal was to hug all of the princesses.
