She was rushed to the emergency room and underwent test after test as doctors worked to understand what was happening.

Eventually, she was diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis, a serious neurological condition that affects the nervous system, and most frequently occurs in young children.

It was a terrifying time for the family. Kayla was placed on a ventilator, but her health continued to decline. “She couldn’t sit, stand, walk, or hold up her own head,” says Kayla’s mom, Sabrina. “Doctors prepared us for the worst. They were not sure she would survive.”

Thankfully, Kayla did survive and slowly began to recover. After three months at Kaiser Santa Clara, she was able to return home under careful supervision. At first, she required 24/7 medical care and a needed a ventilator to breathe.

“She slowly improved with time,” says Sabrina. “Today, although she is a quadriplegic, she no longer uses a ventilator, and has recently started eating all on her own, without her feeding tube.”

Sabrina first learned about Make-A-Wish from a child-life specialist at Kaiser. When she found out that Kayla would qualify, the idea for the perfect wish came together quickly—Kayla loves to spend time in water. A hot tub wish would offer a fun place for Kayla to play, while allowing her to benefit from swim therapy, which is hugely helpful for children with her condition. “Being in water allows her a small bit of independent movement in her limbs and it also provides pressure relief,” explains Sabrina.

The day the hot tub arrived, Kayla was over the moon. “She kept asking if it was ready yet,” says Sabrina. “She had so much joy and excitement on her face as she watched them through our back door.”

Once the plumbing and accessible lift was all set up, Kayla could finally get in the water. In photos taken on that day, you can see the pure joy she experiences as she relaxes in her new hot tub for the first time.

During this time of isolation, it’s been helpful for Kayla to have something fun to focus on. “She wants to go in it all the time,” says Sabrina. “We very rarely leave the house, even more so now because of COVID, so having the hot tub gives us something fun and pleasurable to do.”

Sabrina believes that wishes are incredibly meaningful for kids like Kayla, who go through so much. “Having a wish granted brings so much joy to the lives of these children, who don’t always have as much joy as a typical child,” she says.

Kayla's wish was generously adopted by Texas Instruments. Our Adopt-A-Wish program offers the opportunity to invest in a wish experience, altering the course of a child's life, forever. Thank you, Texas Instruments, for helping make wishes like Kayla's come true!