By Noble Brigham
Las Vegas Review-Journal
LAS VEGAS — Last Christmas, a baby named Savannah had just undergone her third round of chemotherapy after she was born with acute myeloid leukemia, her mother, Sarah Hansen, said.
Savannah was out of the hospital, but last year’s Christmas at the Ronald McDonald House in Los Angeles was still difficult, her mom said.
“We still weren’t getting to celebrate and do all those normal traditions,” Hansen said. “Even though we were together, it still felt different. It just wasn’t the joyous Christmas I had envisioned for her first holidays.”
Savannah, now a 1-year-old, has been in remission since January, and her mother and her father hope that this holiday will be a true celebration for her and her brothers.
On Friday, Savannah toddled out of her family’s Las Vegas home with her mother and watched as an ambulance pulled up, lights flashing, and Santa came over to meet her while EMS workers unloaded a gurney laden with brightly wrapped gifts.
Savannah didn’t show much of a reaction, but she accepted a candy cane from Santa. Her mother was more visibly excited. She said the gifts were “a lot of help” and more than she had expected.
The gift delivery was organized by Community Ambulance and the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada.
Kaitlyn Rogers-Lizares, who works in public relations at Community Ambulance, said the company asked to be assigned to two families. They will visit another family on Saturday.
“Christmas is more about giving than receiving,” she said.
Hansen said her daughter loves baby dolls and wooden toys. “She’s trouble,” she said. “She’s into everything.”
Savannah’s wish list included wooden Fisher-Price toys, Disney princess items, puzzles and books, according to Rogers-Lizares.
“The little kid’s a warrior,” Sarah Hansen said. She said it’s a challenge to adjust to normal life after what the family has been through. Whenever she sees a spot on her daughter, Hansen said, she calls the oncologist.
Savannah wasn’t expected to live longer than six months, even with treatment, Hansen said. “For so long, it had been hard to look to the future and not just live moment to moment,” she said.
Her daughter’s cancer also has been hard on her sons, Logan, 8, and Matthew, 6, she said. The boys requested gifts, too. Both wanted “Star Wars” and Pokemon items, plus Hot Wheels for Matthew and board games for Logan, according to Rogers-Lizares.
Community Ambulance also bought the family gift cards to Walmart, Target and Costco to buy more gifts and food for Christmas dinner, Rogers-Lizares said.
Even though Savannah was the center of a lot of attention, she doesn’t know it’s Christmastime, her mother said.
“She has no idea what it means to come down the stairs on Christmas morning, so that will be exciting,” Hansen said. “She’ll be surprised.”
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