Five-year-old Riley is a natural-born performer. One day, she's teaching a classroom full of imaginary students. The next, she's playing doctor, dashing around the house in a white coat and dreaming up medical dramas. Many days, she’s transforming into one of her favorite Disney princesses: Elsa, Rapunzel, or Snow White. 

“She loves singing and performing,” her mom, Yolanda, says with a laugh. “She’s not afraid to do all of that in front of anyone.” 

It’s bittersweet, Yolanda says, that Riley loves medical play. What began as childhood imagination was shaped by years spent visiting hospitals and undergoing treatment. 

Shortly before her third birthday, Riley was diagnosed with cancer after her parents noticed she had lost her energy, appetite, and interest in playing.  

“I felt like a part of me just got ripped away,” Yolanda says. “I thought I was going to lose my daughter." 

Just prior to Riley’s diagnosis, the family was preparing for a spring break trip to Disney World. Instead of packing for vacation, Riley spent three weeks in the hospital. 

“We were thrown into hospital life, thrown into this medical world,” Yolanda recalls. 

Over the next two years, Riley underwent intensive treatment at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, including chemotherapy, surgery, immunotherapy, and radiation. 

“The journey was tough,” Yolanda says. “She’d look out the window when people visited, and she couldn’t go out. It was really sad to see that she couldn’t be a normal kid.” 

During long hospital stays, Disney movies became a source of comfort, and Riley's favorite princesses gave her something magical to focus on during difficult days.  

When she learned she would receive a wish, Riley’s decision was easy: She wanted to take that trip to Disney World with her family. 

“It was such a blessing to get to the point where she’s in remission,” Yolanda shares. “I wanted her to fully enjoy it. She had her chemo port removed and all, so the timing was just right.” 

So Riley, Yolanda, dad, Matthew, and her older brother, Ryan, set off on their adventure to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, where they stayed at the Give Kids The World Village, a nonprofit resort specially designed to host children with critical illnesses and their families. 

Yolanda was in awe of the number of volunteers working there. “Give Kids The World was amazing,” she shared. “I just loved seeing so many people giving back.” 

For Yolanda and Matthew, being surrounded by other families with similar stories was extremely comforting after what their family had been through. 

Meanwhile, for Riley, the trip was like stepping into her favorite Disney movies and meeting old friends. 

Seeing Anna, Elsa, Rapunzel, and the other princesses in person brought the characters who had accompanied her through treatment to life. 

“I don’t even know how many princesses we met,” Yolanda laughs. “At least ten.” 

One of Riley's favorite moments came during the Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. She sang along to “Let It Go” and “Do You Want to Build a Snowman,” completely immersed in the world of Arendelle. 

At Festival of the Lion King in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the family was invited backstage to meet the performers after the show. “That was really sweet of them,” Yolanda says. “She loved it. She loves being the center of attention." 

For Yolanda, the greatest gift was watching Riley simply be a kid again. 

“I’m just so grateful that she had this opportunity to go because she missed it the first time,” Yolanda says. “Seeing her light up and just being able to go to a different place other than hospital stays was truly remarkable. I know it’s so hard to imagine what ‘normal’ looks like. But for us, after going through hell, normal is just such a blessing.”