Mila’s mom, Teresa, describes her daughter as beautifully silly. “She’s just a super loving, connecting person,” Teresa said. “Mila loves giving and making the world happier and funnier.”
She’s happiest when she’s creating art. But instead of carefree days playing with color, shapes and clay, Mila’s days are spent between hospital visits, chemotherapy appointments and managing a plethora of side effects. And her mom is there, holding her hand every moment.
Mila is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor.
Her diagnosis came out of the blue: one day, she was at gymnastics doing flips. Two days later, she was at the hospital undergoing CAT scans and tests. Mila had surgery to remove the tumor and six weeks of radiation. She’s now going through chemotherapy treatments.
Through it all, Mila and Teresa have grown closer and more connected.
“I’ve never seen the two apart,” said Seattle Children’s Hospital social worker Gretchen Bowers, who referred Mila for her wish. “They are a tight-knit, supportive family.”
With her mom by her side, Mila has a bright spot to look forward to, thanks to you. Mila is eagerly awaiting her wish for a pottery studio to come true.
“I wished for a pottery studio because I love to squish stuff,” Mila said. “It gives me something happy to think about when I’m feeling sad.”
Now, she spends hospital visits pouring over pottery books and playing with clay. It’s all inspiration for the art she’ll make when her wish comes true in May.
“It gives her an outlet to use her creative mind and think about something besides treatment,” said Gretchen. “Having a wish gives kids a little bit of hope, a little bit of normalcy when they feel overwhelmed.”
Mila’s art studio will have a kiln so she can fire her pottery. It will have a wheel and plenty of glazes and brushes and books. But most importantly, Mila’s pottery studio is a place she can spend time with her mom.
“I love it that when she can’t go to school, which is regularly, that there is this place we can go together,” said Teresa. “And it’s so fun to make stuff with her that I feel like those moments are precious.”
“When you become a mother, you open yourself up to all children in a way that you didn’t before,” said Teresa. “You see your own kids and you understand how vulnerable they [all children] are.”
Gretchen works with countless families affected by childhood cancer and often sees that empathy and love first-hand. “These moms would trade places with their child in a heartbeat,” she said.
Join us in celebrating moms like Teresa whose unconditional love knows no boundaries. Your support can make special moments possible for kids like Mila and their moms when they need it most.
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Special thanks to Erica Whisenant Interior Design, Idea Decanter, Kelly Rae Cunningham, Gretchen Bowers and wish-granting volunteers Lisa Fugelo and Katie Brown.