Unlike many with cystic fibrosis, Dehleana was not diagnosed until the age of 10, despite having faced health difficulties she had since she was a baby. In the two years leading up to her wish, Dehleana’s health challenges were increasing; she was diagnosed with CF-related arthritis and had more frequent migraine headaches. These migraines made participation in the social activities increasingly difficult due to debilitating pain and exhaustion. Dehleana admitted that life with CF can be very hard at some points and really tiring, but she says that without CF she “wouldn’t know half of the great people [she] knows, like [her] great doctors or friends on Facebook with CF”.
Though Dehleana is now several years older, at the time of her wish she was like many 15-year-olds, enjoying being social and spending time with friends. She would also enjoy do-it-yourself crafts, shopping, swimming, and riding her hover board. To this day she loves working with animals and teaching her dog new tricks, and she says she “definitely plans to work with animals when she gets older”. So when she had the opportunity to swim with dolphins and visit a turtle hospital, she was delighted.
Hoping a trip would provide an emotional boost during her challenging time, one of Dehleana’s doctors nominated her for a Take A Breather wish. Plans for Dehleana’s breather were put into action and she was off to the Florida Keys with her sister and their parents. There, Dehleana was able to nourish her love of animals by visiting a turtle hospital. She also went to the dolphin research center where she was able to swim with dolphins! Dehleana and her family were able to hang out on the beach, take in the warm weather and salt, and take a breather from everyday life with CF.
