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Marisol Perez with her ‘Wish Grantors’ Torrie and Michelle Yerkovich.
Mila Besich-Lira | Superior Sun
It has been almost two years of chemo treatments, hospital stays, spinal taps and fighting the side affects of cancer medication for six year old Superior resident, Marisol Perez, her parents Rusty Perez and Julie Otero, and her siblings AJ, Jalyssa, and Bella. On Friday, Make a Wish wish grantors Torrie and Michelle Yerkovich of Globe surprised Marisol and her family with an all expense paid trip to the Disneyland Resort. Marisol thought she was going to have a family dinner at Edwardo’s Pizza and was surprised with butterfly cupcakes and the announcement of her trip.
For Michelle and Torrie Yerkovich, they thought this day would never come. The mom and daughter have been Marisol’s wish grantors since 2014. Currently they have two other wish kids one in Globe and another in San Carlos.
Marisol had originally made her wish in December of 2014 to meet Elsa from the Disney movie “Frozen” but her Doctors wanted her to wait to go on her Make a Wish trip to make sure that she could be in the best health possible. Today, Marisol continues to be an active little girl doing all she can to be “normal.” Mom, Julie explained that one day, Marisol came up to her and said “Mom, I just want to be normal.”
She and her family will see her wish come true when Elsa and other Disney princesses meet Marisol and her family for lunch at Ariel’s Grotto at Disney’s California Adventure Park. Marisol is looking forward to sitting by the window in the airplane. The family will stay at Disney’s Paradise Pier hotel, visit Knotts Berry Farm and have some free time to visit other southern California attractions. She is also a huge Denver Broncos fan and her parents thought she might have asked to see a Broncos game in Denver but she opted for meeting Elsa. Her mom explained that Marisol has become a princess through this whole process.
Two years ago Marisa’s parents got the news from doctors that Marisol had leukemia. At first the doctors only gave her four months to live. Rusty and Julie made a tough decision and agreed to under go an experimental treatment to fight the cancer. “We figured if it did not cure her, it could help another child,” explained Julie.
Marisol will receive her last chemo treatment on Feb. 26, 2016. It is a date the whole family is looking forward to.
Marisol has responded well to the treatments and despite the daily chemo pills and inhalers she continues to play and be very active. She will start Kindergarten with her friends next week. Unfortunately while the cancer is going away, “she will always suffer from permanent lung damage,” Julie said.
Marisol’s parents and family have endured a great deal of stress through the diagnosis and treatment process. A few weeks after her initial diagnosis Marisol’s dad Rusty was laid off from his job at Cementation. Fortunately the company was able to keep them on the insurance during that lay off. As their days of treatment get closer to an end, the Perez family finds themselves once again at a crossroads, Rusty will be laid off from his job at Cementation again. This time the insurance won’t be there and the COBRA payment to keep the same coverage is $1000 per month. Rusty has applied for a job at a gold mine in Winnemucka, Nevada that has Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance but that will separate the family while Marisol finishes her treatments. Due to the experimental treatment there are very few insurance companies that will cover the treatments. Her family fears that if her treatment changes it could have serious effects on her progress.
There is no doubt that this has been a long and strenuous journey for this Superior family. They attribute their faith and the faith and prayers of their family and friends for helping them get through this trying time.
Edwardo’s Pizza donated the pizza for the surprise dinner and Fry’s grocery store in Globe donated the butterfly cupcakes.
Want to help? Friends and family have established a GoFundMe page for donations for Marisol and her family. Cllick here to make a donation.
Mila Besich is a resident of Superior with two children. She volunteers for many local organizations. She is an experienced fundraiser and event planner for Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition. She covers some of the area town councils and schools.
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