Even as a little girl, Sandra had “stars in her eyes,” according to her mom, Roberta. She has been a dancer since taking her first lesson at age 3. The family has video footage of the tiny girl with a mop of curly raven tresses, performing in a glittery stage costume.

“She was an adorable, bubbly little sweet kid!” Roberta recalls with a smile.

So when Sandra was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma as a teenager, she was devastated and wondered if she would ever dance again. She remembers feeling depressed and “spaced out” from all the medications she was prescribed. A course of chemotherapy followed. All the while, Sandra hoped and prayed she would feel well enough to dance again.

Sandra began to write poetry. Her first poem, titled “Defined Again,” contains the poignant lines:

Oh so sad am I / No longer a dancer

Defined by a new word / which is cancer.

Enter the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Wish-granting volunteers met Sandra at the end of her long recovery, around the same time she was finally given thrilling news from her doctors – a clean bill of health! She excitedly shared her wish: to go see ABC-TV’s hit show “Dancing with the Stars” in person.

The Foundation’s partnership with The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiary ABC made Sandra’s dream possible. Sandra and her family flew from Chicago to Los Angeles and soon arrived on the set of “Dancing with the Stars.”

“Oh my gosh,” recalls the ebullient teen (who, by the way, still sports that wonderful curly black mop of hair). “I was totally excited. I can hardly talk about it – the whole experience was so amazing!”

Sandra was introduced to the Season 7 cast, including Academy Award-winning actress Cloris Leachman; “All My Children” star Susan Lucci; and Lance Bass, formerly of the pop music group *NSYNC.

“I got to meet Lance Bass,” Sandra said. “I remember going to his concert and reaching out to him!”

After being introduced to the cast, Sandra was taken to the makeup trailer and given the full beauty treatment. Then it was time to go see the show.

Gorgeous in a pale yellow dress with sparkling necklace and matching earrings, Sandra, with her lithe dancer’s frame and bubbly personality, was a favorite with the cast. Former world-champion sprinter Maurice Greene twirled her around the stage in an impromptu dance.

“The dancers were so professional and so amazing!” Sandra says. “I had the best time of my life.”

***To view Sandra's experience on "Dancing with the Stars," go to the Children and Families section and click on the middle thumbnail photo here.***

Disney is proud to be a long-time supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation^® and uses its magic to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Over the past 28 years, Disney has supported the Make-A-Wish^® mission, contributing more than $11 million in cash and in-kind donations each year. With more than 6,000 wishes granted every year – including visits to the Disney Parks, Disney Cruises, meeting Disney Characters, attending sporting events and visiting TV and movie sets – Disney-themed wishes continue to be the most popular requests by children to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.