When Miranda was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of 10, everything in her and her family’s life changed. While she was supposed to be going into 5^th grade and preparing for middle school, she instead was going to doctor appointments and treatment. 

“It was hard being diagnosed with Leukemia at age 10,” Miranda shared. “I was supposed to go into 5th grade and prepare to what would be our transition into middle school and it felt like it was taken away. It was also very hard losing friends because they didn't understand what I was going through.”

As a multi-sport student athlete, Miranda also felt like she was falling behind her peers and would compare herself to them.

“Due to the side effects of treatment and being out of a school for a while she felt she was ‘lacking’ or constantly comparing her athletic abilities to the other children,” Sarai noted. “And she has anxiety every time she's sick or has to do her routine checkup.”

Her medical journey had many negative effects on Miranda during this formative time in her life. However, her wish gave her an opportunity to connect with her family and feel like herself again. She wished to go to Hawaii because her family had never taken a vacation and Hawaii had always been a dream.

Upon arriving in Hawaii, Miranda admired the ocean view while the plane was landing. “We went from ocean view to this beautiful island, and it just got better from there,” Miranda reminisced. “Each place we visited was so beautiful and also [I loved] visiting Kualoa Ranch and seeing where Jurassic Park was filmed.”

Something that was special to Miranda was getting to experience this trip with her parents and siblings, who also endured a lot of stress during her treatment. Miranda shared, “The wish itself was a fun and meaningful experience because my family and I were out of the hospital walls, able to focus on having as much fun as possible and just being us and feeling normal during the trip."

Similarly, for Miranda’s mom, her favorite part of the trip was enjoying time as a family in a place they may not have had the chance to visit otherwise.

“A memory that vividly stays with me forever was watching Miranda have fun at the beach running around with her siblings soaking up the sun and enjoying the sunset,” said Sarai. “It was like as if for our stay there she was able to take her mind of the constant medications needing to be taken, the upcoming appointment and treatments.”

Now, Miranda is an all-around student and athlete who spends her time doing volleyball, dance, and flag football. She was also inspired by her journey to write poetry.

“Make-A-Wish is more than just going somewhere; it's about being able to see your child be them again through this experience,” shared Sarai.