Alyssa’s Story

Alyssa was a beautiful and very talented young girl who was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after her fourth birthday in 1996. After she was diagnosed, Alyssa underwent nearly five years of chemotherapy. 

Alyssa was a student at Boulder Creek Elementary School in Redding, starting there while in YMCA preschool and continuing until three weeks before her passing. Alyssa missed her third grade year after relapsing in August 2000 and undergoing a bone marrow transplant and stem cell transplant. Alyssa returned briefly during fourth grade to see her very special friends. 

The courage Alyssa showed touched many lives and she has been greatly missed by many dear friends, family members, and those she touched in the medical profession. Alyssa is especially missed by her friends and teachers from Boulder Creek School, many who we still have contact with. 

After Alyssa relapsed our lives were in turmoil. We spent over five months of Alyssa's last fourteen months in the hospital. Most of this time was in San Francisco, far away from our family and friends. It was there that the deepest friendships formed with doctors, nurses, hospital staff and most importantly families of other seriously ill children. 

Through the friendships with other families, we learned there was a tremendous need to help families with seriously ill children, especially those traveling long distances. Surviving as a family is difficult enough; and combined with serious illness, months of separation, stress, and in many cases a parent giving up his/her job to be a caregiver can be an unbearable burden. Often these families feel very lost. 

The strength Alyssa showed during the last year of her life has been the foundation of our family's strength to form The Alyssa Araiza Wings of Angels Organization in her honor and to help families of other seriously ill children. Because of the support of our many friends, organizations, businesses, and the success of our two annual fund raisers, "Wings of Angels" has been able to help the families of seriously ill children in our community for twenty years. 

Currently "Wings of Angels" is providing assistance to thirty local families and donates over $8,000 monthly to these families. Each month we provide a minimum of $150.00 in pre-paid gas cards and $25.00 grocery cards to all our families. This assistance is provided to families of children with cancer, serious illness, or injury who are required to travel from the Redding area for treatment. We assist by paying utility bills, rent, vehicle repairs, propane, memorial donations, scholarships, additional groceries and the donation of eleven vehicles. "Wings of Angels" was formed in 2002 and has donated more than $2 million dollars back into our community by assisting over 260 local families with seriously ill children.