Foundation grants girl’s wish to visit Hawaii with her family

Lorena Rangel is 15 years old. She is a loving daughter and sister to two brothers and a sister. She is a sophomore at Western High School. She is interested in photography. She excels in her school work.

These are characteristics by which Lorena chooses to define herself , not her failing kidney.

Lorena has been diagnosed with end-stage renal failure, a condition that worsens with age, and is on a long list of patients waiting for a kidney transplant, but she said the thought of it does not run her life.

"I've always wanted to be a doctor," she said. "I want to help people. I'm going through it all. I know what they are feeling."

Thanks to Macy's and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada, Lorena and her family are scheduled to travel to Hawaii in March.

"Granting wishes is all about giving the children a boost at a challenging time in their lives," said Melissa Warren, chairwoman of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada's board of directors. "We want to involve the whole family because the illness involves the whole family."

The foundation grants as many as 200 wishes for terminally ill children and their families annually in Southern Nevada, not including the many "wish assists" in partnership with other chapters of the national charity.

"When the children go on their trips or meet their favorite celebrities, all of the hospitals, the needles, the tests don't exist," Warren said.

Lorena said Hawaii was her first choice.

"I'm pretty excited," she said. "I call it paradise island."

Lorena has been to the beach once when her family took a trip to California, and she said she made sure they would be able to come on this trip, too.

"I wanted something the whole family can do," she said. "It's not been easy, and they've been there for me the entire time."

Lorena has big plans for her trip.

"I want to get a waterproof camera and take pictures under water," she said with a big smile. "I'm too scared to surf, but they told me I can swim with dolphins. There's so many possibilities."

A volunteer with the foundation since 2005, Annette Fuentes served as Lorena's "wish granter." Fuentes spent time with Lorena, getting to know her, talking to her about what she wanted her wish to be.

"Just seeing the family and the children so happy is fulfilling," Fuentes said. "It shows them there are people out there who do care about these children. We do it for the children."

Contact Paradise/Downtown View reporter Nolan Lister at nlister@viewnews.com or 702-383-0492.