Shortly after Bella was born, she was diagnosed with failure to thrive. As an infant, she had difficulty latching and breastfeeding, but she grew to be a happy and active, albeit small, child. 

When she was three, Bella’s parents, Victor and Gladys, were planning a family trip for her fourth birthday. However, days before they were due to leave, Bella began to complain of knee pain. Her parents took her to the doctor in their hometown of San Jose, who recommended that Bella get bloodwork done.  

“We received a call right away,” recalls Victor. “They urged us to come back and get her blood retested. We did, and then they sat us down and told us she had leukemia. It broke our hearts and turned our world upside down.” 

Bella’s hemoglobin was critically low, Victor says, and she was “basically on the verge of cardiac arrest.” The family immediately canceled their plans, and Bella was transferred to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, where she stayed for the next several weeks. 

“It was a whirlwind,” Victor says. “Throughout the course of her treatment, they found that her leukemia had spread more aggressively than they’d thought, which of course freaked us out.”  

Bella was treated with chemotherapy and steroids, which led to drastic weight gain and mood changes. “She didn’t really understand what was happening; she just knew she was sick,” Victor adds. “All she really wanted to do was play.” 

That’s when a nurse practitioner on Bella’s care team shared that Bella might qualify to receive a wish from Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area. Victor and Gladys recall being surprised to learn that they were eligible—they had thought that Make-A-Wish only served terminally ill children or families from certain socioeconomic backgrounds—so they were delighted by the possibility.   

Like many children her age, Bella is a major Disney fan. “She loves singing and performing, and she knows all the songs from Moana,” Victor says, smiling. “I’d say she is a superfan.” She also loves swimming and playing at the beach. So, it came as no surprise when Bella wished to travel with her mom and dad to Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii. 

Bella learned her wish would be coming true during a wish reveal held at Capitol Subaru in San Jose, complete with all her favorite treats, including Ruffles potato chips, chocolate cupcakes, cotton candy, and fresh strawberries. The staff even surprised her with her very own suitcase, filled with Disney-themed gifts to bring along on her trip. Since 2017, the dealership has selected Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area as their hometown charity for the Subaru Share the Love Event, helping grant life-changing wishes like Bella’s for children in the community.

By fall 2025, Bella had finished her chemotherapy protocol and had her port removed. Now considered in remission, she had regained enough strength to finally experience her wish. Just weeks later, Bella and her parents were on their way to Hawaii for an unforgettable week at Aulani. 

The family arrived to a traditional Hawaiian lei greeting and spent the week soaking up the sunshine, swimming, building sandcastles, collecting seashells, and enjoying time together as a family.  

One of Bella’s favorite moments was learning to dance the Aulani hula at the KA WA‘A luau, where she followed along as Mickey and Minnie performed onstage. She was overjoyed to meet some of her favorite Disney characters, including Stitch—and especially Moana. They were meaningful encounters for the young Disney superfan. 

“From our perspective as a family, the trip was great,” Victor says. “It was incredible to see that we could be like a normal family, doing normal things. We didn’t always think that would be possible.”  

Today, Bella is six years old and thriving. She attends kindergarten and is enrolled in tae kwon do, where she recently got her yellow belt. Her constant companion is a three-year-old Cavapoo named Gobi.  

Bella is also looking forward to welcoming a younger sibling into the family, as Victor and Gladys are expecting their second child, a daughter, in May. “We had paused our plans for our family after Bella’s diagnosis,” Victor says, “and we’re so grateful now that we can continue to grow our family.” 

“So, she’ll be a big sister,” Gladys adds. “She’s excited and is telling everyone.” 

Victor and Gladys also express deep gratitude for the joy and hope Make-A-Wish provided at a difficult time. In fact, Victor has recently become a wish-granting volunteer himself, so that he can share the same sense of hopefulness and positivity with other families.  

“We are so grateful to Make-A-Wish for everything they’ve done for our family, and I want to give back,” Victor says. “I just interviewed my first wish kid, and it turns out to be a little girl with a Disney wish. I’ll do anything I can to help make it come true.”