LIHUE — “Every day is a good day,” said Kerry Ziegler of New York at the Kauai Polynesian Festival Saturday. Kerry’s daughter Emily, 17, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and was visiting the KPF with her family through the
LIHUE — “Every day is a good day,” said Kerry Ziegler of New York at the Kauai Polynesian Festival Saturday.
Kerry’s daughter Emily, 17, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and was visiting the KPF with her family through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“I was looking through the Internet for different cultural experiences,” Emily told Violet Asuncion, a Kapa‘a Middle School eighth-grade student. “I didn’t want anything touristy, and when I found the Kauai Polynesian Festival, I knew this was where I wanted to be.”
Asuncion was one of the people greeting Emily and her family when they arrived at the KPF Saturday.
“I studied the Make-A-Wish Foundation for a project in school,” Asuncion said. “Then, I heard about Emily on the radio, and I knew I had to do this.”
She got an ukulele, an instruction book and a lei and greeted the New York high school junior, breaking open her own ukulele and serenading the New Yorker with a contemporary Hawaiian song.
Emily was overwhelmed beyond words. A smile blossomed on her face as she was greeted by Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., swept through a series of Maori games and danced. She laughed when she was joined by her mother and father while learning a Tahitian dance.
“After she was diagnosed, she underwent chemotherapy,” said Jeff Ziegler, Emily’s dad. “But there was no response, and in March of 2012, Emily underwent a bone marrow transplant.”
Following the transplant, Emily was kept inside her home for more than a year, unable to go out in public, and in May of this year, she received word that her Make-A-Wish submission was granted.
“We came to Kauai because of its healing nature,” Jeff said. “This was the only item Emily asked for in her Make-A-Wish. Right now, Emily’s leukemia is in recession, and as Kerry said, ‘Every day without leukemia, is a very good day.”
Kapu Kinimaka-Alquiza of the Kamanawa Foundation, host of the KPF, said she was going to ensure Emily had a great experience at the festival.
“We’re going to do everything possible to make this a great experience for Emily and her family,” Kinimaka-Alquiza said. “Make-A-Wish Foundation is a wonderful organization and partnering in this way gives more meaning to our event.”
Since its founding in 1982, Make-A-Wish Hawaii has granted more than 800 wishes for local children. Nationally, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 200,000 wishes.
The Kauai Polynesian Festival runs through this evening with gates opening at 11:30 a.m.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
