How you can help a Coalinga girl battling cancer get her final wish

COALINGA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Party planning is underway for Hazel Medina of Coalinga.

She's a 17-year-old high school wrestler who loves to paint and isn't afraid to be silly.

"She's amazing," her mother Patricia Medina said.

Hazel's life shifted two years ago when pain suddenly shot through her knee.

"When it first started, we didn't even know she had it," Medina said.

The pain persisted and got worse, but doctors never had a specific answer about why it was happening, until the day after Father's Day in 2019.

Doctors confirmed Hazel had cancer, a rare form of Rhabdomyosarcoma.

They told her she had six months to live.

"And she's all, 'Nope. I'm going to push through that.' And then they told her, 'OK you pushed through a year, you have another year.' She said, 'Nope. I'm going to push through that one too.'" Medina said.

And for the last two years, she has.

She's undergone chemotherapy and radiation, always beating the odds.

But earlier this week, her health started deteriorating and she was admitted to the hospital.

Doctors said she had weeks to live, so her family started putting in place some of her final wishes.

Her Make-a-Wish dream was to visit Safari West, a private wildlife preserve in Northern California.

Because of her health, that wasn't possible.

"Her second wish was to have a 'Sweet 17'," her mother said.

So her family started planning. They rallied the Coalinga community to make it happen on June 12.

But then, Hazel got worse.

She told doctors she did not want to die in a hospital, so Friday, they allowed her to go home and her family moved the 'Sweet 17' up to Saturday.

"I know it's not going to be something like big that she wanted, but it's going to be something," Medina said.

Everyone is invited to stop by to celebrate Hazel's Sweet 17 and make one of her final wishes come true.

"We're doing the celebration, the celebration of life, that she's still here with us." said Media. "You know, it's a celebration to say that she's pushed through all these obstacles and she's still here, you know? She's pushing through and you know that's what I want them to come across."

The celebration is Saturday at 1 p.m. at 1720 Willow Springs Avenue in Coalinga.

The family does have a GoFundMe page if you want to make a monetary donation for the party, you can find it here.