SAN ANTONIO – A departure gate at the San Antonio International Airport became a party venue that resembled Candyland Friday morning to celebrate 18-year-old Stephanie Cadena's trip to Orlando.
The teen left Friday morning through Dream Factory and courtesy of the Something mAAgic Foundation to spend one week at Give Kids the World Village, a 70-acre resort that caters to children with special needs.
"We always want them to go out excited, and they have a whirlwind week ahead of them, and we want them to go out happy and stress-free," said Linda Hataway, a ticket agent for American Airlines who planned the party.
Cadena's parents said since she was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010, her life has been a roller coaster of hospital stays, chemotherapy, remission last year, then being diagnosed again in March.
"We've been struggling these past four years and we had our ups and downs, and she has a big struggle on the road to recovery when we come back. We're going to do a transplant when we come back," said her mom, Cathy Cadena.
"They don't give us much of a chance for her to survive, but we know that with God's help, she'll be all right," said Sergio Cadena, Stephanie Cadena's dad.
Even with a hospital stay and bone marrow transplant waiting for her when she returns, Stephanie Cadena's parents said the trip was a way to put it all on pause.
"I think it brightens up her life a little bit. She sees joy, you know, what she's going to go out there and see," said Sergio Cadena.