Homestead girl, battling the fight of her life, asks for a special Christmas wish
HOMESTEAD - There are many kids who don't have a mom to go to school or to go to the hospital with them.
Family is everything for this 10-year-old girl, as she said her mother is her hero.
"I tell her that she means the world to me 'cause she's my mom," said Ariana.
According to her mother, Krysta Jurs, Ariana was diagnosed with mixed germ cell cancer, a rare type of brain cancer just before Halloween.
"She has one very large tumor that's completely taking over her pituitary gland," Jurs said.
This ten-year-old girl, treasured for her smile and positive attitude, has undergone three chemo treatments.
Less than two months ago, Ariana began losing her hair.
Her eight-year-old brother, Albert, asked his mother to shave his head too, to make his sister feel better.
"I start the chemo cycles at night and then I'll be there for about a week," Ariana said.
She told us her Christmas wish was to be with family in Alabama and to spend time in a room decorated with her favorite Disney character, Stitch.
"My room theme is to be Stitch," Ariana said.
As in Lilo and Stitch – the mysterious alien from the 20-year-old classic.
"So you'd like to have your whole bedroom decorated with Stitch?" asked Taylor.
"I want my walls to be painted with Stitch. Bedsheets and blankets with Stitch on it," Ariana said.
When Ariana was diagnosed, her mother's life changed dramatically, putting her job on hold to take care of her daughter.
"We plan for college or let's buy a house planning a cancer savings account," Jurs said.
But Ariana had another idea.
"For us to have a house, where we all can live in," Ariana said.
"Is that because mom is renting?" asked Taylor.
"It's hard to find things like this, especially when you go through things that cost a lot more money," Ariana said.
And while she has wishes of a little girl – and someone wise beyond her years – for now – Ariana heads to the doctor hoping that her first wish will be granted.
Good lab results – that will allow her to head to Alabama and spend Christmas with her family.
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