Firefighters Make Wish Come True

It was a day to remember in 9-year-old Steven Guardado’s young life.

A happy day where he could forget about the chemotherapy, the tired, groggy feeling, the sadness he feels when his mother cries.

On Sunday, Steven, whose leukemia was diagnosed in December 1996, found himself running around like a healthy little boy, enjoying the gifts donated by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which helps to grant wishes of seriously ill children.

Through the help of Long Beach firefighter Mike Garcia--Steven’s Make-A-Wish sponsor--the boy was the guest of honor at a surprise party Sunday with pizza, cake and soft drinks.

He was visited by half a dozen Long Beach firefighters who arrived in their company engine and made Steven an honorary member of the Long Beach Fire Department.

After getting a ride on the fire company engine--wearing a firefighter hat and a made-to-order brush jacket--Steven was granted his wish: He was given a $2,500 laptop computer, complete with a portable printer and several computer games.

He had asked for a portable computer so he could take it with him to the hospital and also use e-mail to keep in touch with his new friends at the cancer ward.

A shy little boy who prefers a nod and a smile to talking, Steven mustered all his strength to thank everybody who had made his Sunday so special.

His mother, Ernie Guardado, could not contain her enthusiasm and her gratitude.

“Thank you all so much. This is unbelievable,” she said as the party guests, including the Long Beach fire chief, munched on pizza, meatballs, garlic bread and salad.

Just a little more than a year ago, the Guardados’ life was stable, healthy and without worry. But on Dec. 12, 1996, Ernie Guardado noticed a strange bruise on her son’s chest.

Steven had been playing tetherball with his fraternal twin brother, Seth, when he was hit in the chest by the ball. Something about the bruise that developed looked abnormal, and Guardado took her son to the doctor. Within a few hours, Steven’s condition was diagnosed as a rare blood disorder.

His situation was so grave--the cancer cells were already detected in his spinal fluid--that chemotherapy was begun almost immediately. He received two blood transfusions in his first week of treatment.

“I never thought in a million years this could happen to us,” said Guardado, who along with her husband, William, has three more children ages 6, 9 and 10. “But I have a lot of faith.”

For now, the cancer is in remission. Steven’s hair has grown back--albeit curly instead of straight. And he has gained back at least 15 pounds he lost during the early months of treatment.

Steven still faces another four years of chemotherapy, most of which he ingests through pills in addition to two treatments a week at Long Beach Memorial Hospital.

Sunday’s event was particularly special, as nearly a dozen family members, friends and neighbors gathered at the Guardado house to celebrate his one year in remission. They can only pray that the deadly disease stays away.

“When a child is so sick like this, you get so depressed,” said Elaine Bailey, Steven’s aunt and godmother. “But something like this [Make-A-Wish party] just makes it go away for a while. There aren’t any words to express how nice this is.”