Woodard Junior High student granted wish from foundation
Mercedes Solarez didn’t just walk into the gym at Woodard Junior High on Wednesday afternoon — she floated.
After walking through a cheering line-up that was supported by the school band, Mercedes entered the gym and the crowd went crazy.
Amid all the cheering, whistling, clapping and screaming, she gracefully moved to center stage, giving and receiving hugs from classmates, teachers, family members and well-wishers. Positive energy rolled off her in waves, and her smile was off the charts.
“She has sass, she has personality…. and she has grit,” said Woodard Principal Danny Acosta, as Mercedes, her mother, grandmother and other relatives listened. “And I have grown to really appreciate her determination.”
All the pomp and circumstance
was for a good reason — the southern region of Arizona’s Make a Wish Foundation was on hand to present Mercedes with a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.
Mercedes was born Feb. 27, 2005, and she was taken directly to a NICU, Mercedes’ mom, Valene explained. Mercedes had a clubbed foot, in which the appendage is curved in and upward, and a cleft palate.
Doctors initially thought she had Stickler Syndrome, a group of “hereditary conditions characterized by a distinctive facial appearance, eye abnormalities, hearing loss, and joint problems,” according to the National Institutes of Health online medical library.
“Lo, and behold, that was not what she has. It was the wrong diagnosis,” Valene said during the presentation at the school.
After 11 years, the spunky 12-year-old who likes unicorns and emoji, got a correct diagnosis — Loeys-Dietz Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder. The disorder is characterized by an enlarged aorta and skeletal problems and can range from mild to severe.
“She has really severe asthma,” Valene explained to an audience of more than 600 students. “She has a hearing difficulty and she also has a dilated aorta and mitral valve prolapse — which basically means that her blood flows through her body but a little bit of it stays in her heart.”
While Mercedes has endured many surgeries, doctors don’t think she’s a candidate for a heart surgery that could prolong her life, her mom explained.
“After being rescheduled twice and canceled for surgery to fix (her) heart issues,” Valene said, “We were told that because of the scarring on her lungs and the severe asthma that she has, the surgery would not be a success. Without the surgery she could die early. Mercedes is the most fearless and positive person I have ever had the honor of knowing. I am proud to call her my daughter.”
But her daughter’s heart isn’t enlarged just from the disease, Valene noted, it’s also large because of all the love and support she’s received from her teachers, classmates and friends.
“For those of you who are her friends, her family and her teachers you all know how special she is. thank you for being a part of her life and for all your love and support. To Miss Mercedes!”
Liz Williams, southern region Wish president, said that the Yuma group grants about five wishes each year. Another Wish volunteer, Shelly Ostrowski, said that Mercedes’ wish was the second this year.
Wishes are open to children between the ages of 2 and one-half and 18, according to the Make A Wish website. A referral is made by teachers, physicians or the kids themselves. Once a child’s medical eligibility has been determined, a “wish team” is sent out to find what that child’s wish is. The wish team for Mercedes also attended the event to celebrate.
For Mercedes, her hope is to be able to grow up to help others as they have helped her.
“She loves helping people,” Valene said on behalf of Mercedes. “When she grows up she wants to be an EMT. She wants to ride the ambulance and take care of other people.”