ABC30 is supporting the series by highlighting wish-granting stories from the Central Valley made possible by Make-A-Wish and Disney.
"I liked the one ride that went really fast, but I was holding my dad really tight," shared Paisley Catallo.
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The seven-year-old gets excited when describing her first time at Walt Disney World in Florida.
That type of happiness is what Paisley's mom prayed her daughter would get to experience, especially after what she went through as a toddler.
At two years old, Paisley became very ill and was rushed to Valley Children's Hospital in Madera.
"Paisley was diagnosed in 2018 with a brain tumor anaplastic ependymoma," Nikki Catallo said. "We had to travel, from pretty much June until September, back and forth to San Diego for radiation."
Paisley then went through chemotherapy at Valley Children's and finished her last round in November 2018.
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"Valley Children's Healthcare is our biggest partner in the community," explained Kathleen Price, regional vice president of Make-A-Wish Central Valley.
"They refer 100% of their sickest children to Make-A-Wish because they know that wishes are medicine of a different kind."
In 2020, Paisley's family found out that Make-A-Wish would grant her wish to go to Disney World.
The pandemic put it on pause, but they were able to go this year.
For the first time, the Catallo family was able to make memories outside of a hospital.
Nikki said the six of them enjoyed being together without having anything to worry about.
"Being able to see her just get to be a princess and spoiled. Everywhere, she was a little VIP, a little star," shared Nikki.
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Paisley's mom believes her daughter's wish to experience the magic of Disney was the spark of hope she needed.
"We love seeing that, and that's why we do what we do," Price said.
Paisley is celebrating five years of being in remission and is now considered a cancer survivor.
Disney has helped Make-A-Wish grant more than 150,000 wishes since 1980.
To learn more about Make-A-Wish, visit wish.org/Disney.
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