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A wish for Naomi

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Natalie Mariscal’s dream for her niña is like every madre’s dream — she wants her daughter to grow into a happy, healthy young lady, and one day have children of her own. This young mother’s dream became a nightly prayer when she found out her daughter had cancer and needed a kidney and heart transplant.
Naomi Maldonado, 3, was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma of the kidney, a rare form of cancer, in January 2008. She spent almost a year in Childrens Hospital Los Angeles receiving chemotherapy. But, Mariscal said, because her daughter was so tiny, the cancer treatments damaging her small heart and kidney.
Unable to finish the treatments, the  mother brought her daughter home and now they wait. Naomi must be cancer-free to be put on a donor list and be free from the cancer for at least two years before she has the transplants.
The wait is excruciating for Mariscal, a single mom to Naomi and twin brother, Paul.
“I pray that no one has to suffer like she and I have,” she said. “The worst feeling in the world is to watch your child suffer and you can’t do anything but pray.”
Mariscal spends her days and nights caring for the twins. Her mom helps with Paul, but Naomi’s care is on her mother’s shoulders. The young woman was taught to administer her daughter’s medicine and  hook her up to a dialysis machine, which runs 10 hours a day.
“I really don’t have any freedom,” said the young woman, “But that’s OK.”
Neither child nor her mother has had a full night’s sleep in months.
Mariscal had to quit her job in security at Rabobank Arena; her finances and her energy are draining quickly.
The light at the end of the tunnel for this young mother will be the smile and the nod she’s hoping to receive from Naomi’s physician at her next appointment — a nod that confirms her little girl is cancer-free.
Another ray of light will appear May 2, when Team Naomi, formed in honor of the sick child, will pass the baton at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event.
The annual Relay for Life fundraiser is at Cal State Bakersfield and is the American Cancer Society’s signature event for the local community to ban together to raise money for cancer research — and help little girls, just like Naomi. Last year, the event earned more than $1.7 million.
“I started Team Naomi because I think Naomi is a wonderful little girl and I wanted her mother and her to know people love them and support them,” said Yolanda Gonzales, a relative and veteran relay participate.
The 20 members of Team Naomi include relatives and those touched by Naomi’s story who want to help. The goal: raise $2,500 for cancer research.
“Naomi is one of the most adorable little girls you will ever meet,” said Gonzales, who is also the relay team captain. “She’s always smiling. I’m sure she knows she is different from other kids but she has a big heart.”
Naomi, a dark-haired little girl with a pixie haircut, likes Winnie the Pooh; big, chunky, bead-necklaces; and the color purple, just like her mom. Like most little girls her age, she wants to go to Disneyland. Her mom would like Naomi to see Disneyland, too — and a moment to take a deep breath, relax and put the worry aside for a day or two.
With that in mind, Gonzales has asked friends and family for small donations to start a Disneyland fund. After news of Naomi’s illness was aired in the local media recently, others from the community have come forward with donations as well.
“The response from the community is awesome,” Gonzales said. “Our goal is to make Naomi’s wish come true and send her and her family (to Disneyland) but also to help Natalie out financially.”
So far, Gonzales and others have raised about $1,500 for the Disneyland trip and to help Mariscal buy a reliable car.
Whether Naomi will witness her team in action come May depends on how well she feels that day, said her mom, who has learned to take one day at a time.
 “The day of the relay will be fantastic, exciting and full of a lot of emotion for many people,” Gonzales said. “We pray that Naomi and her family can join us.”