Wishing in the big city

By: NELSY RODRIGUEZ - Staff Writer
Wildomar boy with inoperable liver cancer granted shopping spree in New York City | Thursday, February 7, 2008 9:43 PM PST ∞

WILDOMAR ---- People posed for pictures against the limo that 15-year-old Daniel Alonso and his family were in. He bought his first tie. He dined on lasagna in Little Italy and climbed the 156 steps to the base of the Statue of Liberty.

The worst part of his four-day trip to New York City at the end of January was getting stuck on Ellis Island when especially vicious winds made it too choppy for a safe ferry ride. And at the end of the day, Daniel pushed his exhausted little brother back to the hotel in the wheelchair meant for himself.

Daniel wished for three things when he met with leaders of the Make A Wish Foundation. His third choice was a trip to Hawaii. Second was to meet the San Diego Chargers after a game. But the Wildomar boy had never been to the big city of alluring apparel and electronics and sights. So that's what he got ---- a $1,100.50 shopping spree and sight-seeing tour in NYC.

"I spent everything but seven dollars," Daniel said. "In like five hours. They said not to be shy."

Daniel isn't shy about much. He shows no hesitancy to speak of the painful sores that formed under his tongue in reaction to his daily medication that he, his family and friends all over the world are praying will reduce the large lemon-sized tumor in his liver.

And when his dad, David Alonso, describes the two experimental surgeries that revealed the tumor is on his portal vein and might cause him to bleed to death if it were removed, Daniel keeps his brown eyes acceptingly calm.

He can say without angst that he has about a 25 percent chance of reducing the tumor, according to his doctor at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte. His peace comes from a moment after surgery, when a dangerous fever and heightened pain threatened his life. A pastor, one neither he nor his family had ever met, came to the hospital and prayed over Daniel's body. That night the fever broke, and so did the family's fright.

"That first (surgery), I was pretty scared, but the second time I didn't think of cancer as anything bad," he said. "I was supposed to lose my hair (during chemotherapy) but I didn't. I was supposed to feel sick, but I didn't. I was supposed to lose my appetite, but I didn't. That's what helps me a lot spiritually."

David Alonso, 42, said the trauma that his family has endured has transformed into a higher level of faith. But it wasn't always something with which they could be at peace.

During his freshman year in high school, while training during the football off-season, Daniel developed a seething itch and was regularly overwhelmed with fatigue. A prescription for scabie-fighting creams proved insufficient. Within a week the whites of his eyes turned yellow and his mom's dreams went black.

Juanita Alonso dreamt that Daniel asked her to get in the car with him. She didn't know where they were going, but knew Daniel didn't know how to drive. Still, he confidently sat behind the wheel.

"I kept saying, 'Mijo we're going to die,' but he kept saying, 'No, it's okay'," Juanita said about the dream she will never forget. "We were close to trees on the sides and I was so scared we were going to die, but he wouldn't let (the steering wheel) go."

In the dream, they headed into a long, black tunnel. And in the distance, Juanita saw her son was driving full speed into "a bright light."

"At seven in the morning, I was making the appointment" for a doctor, she said. "I felt something in my heart, something as a mom."

On June 9, 2007, while his friends were taking finals to finish their freshman year at Lake Elsinore High School, Daniel was diagnosed with cancer. David Alonso stopped working to be at his eldest son's side through treatments that one time kept him in the hospital for 22 days.

The family turned to the church of the pastor who prayed over their son and have since received tremendous support and generosity from the members of Calvary El Alfarero in Menifee. And they credit the Make A Wish Foundation with making the wish of their son come true.

In March, Daniel will celebrate his 16th birthday. Until then, he said, he'll spend his days completing his independent studies and playing video games, going bowling with friends and watching his former high school basketball games, showing off his New York City wardrobe, maybe wearing his new M&Ms tie and living with love of life and hope of recovery.

When asked how he feels about life now, Daniel leaned back in his chair in between his mom and his dad at the kitchen table and said: "Take care of yourself in life because you only get it once."

Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com.

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