Dream come true
Founded in Santa Barbara, the Dream Foundation is sending Stage 4 cancer patient on a dream trip to Hawaii with her young family
When Belmi Tepeque learned her gastric cancer had progressed to Stage 4 after her initial diagnosis in 2017, the 22-year-old wife and mother of two only had one thing on her mind.
“That’s all I heard, ‘Stage 4,’ out of everything. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, OK. Number one thing for me is my family,’” Ms. Tepeque said.
Ms. Tepeque wanted her 4-year-old daughter Genesis to have memories of them together that would last forever, but their family could not afford a special vacation. She looked into the Make a Wish Foundation, but she was too old to qualify.
Discouraged, she spoke to Amy Shapton at the Ridley Tree Cancer Center, one of her first support systems following her diagnosis.
“I told (Amy), ‘Oh, Make a Wish; I don’t qualify!’ and she said, ‘But there’s a Dream Foundation!’” said Ms. Tepeque.
Founded in Santa Barbara 26 years ago, the Dream Foundation is the only national dream-granting organization for terminally-ill adults. With a network of generous donors with big hearts, the Foundation fulfills final “dreams” that provide inspiration, comfort and closure at the end of life for terminally-ill adults 18 and older across the country.
Since 1994, the Foundation has fulfilled more than 32,000 dreams.
With the help of Ms. Shapton and staff at Santa Barbara Hospice, Ms. Tepeque submitted her application, and was accepted.
On Wednesday, the Dream Foundation presented her with her dream: A family vacation to Maui.
“I was overwhelmed with happiness and excitement,” said Ms. Tepeque, who was born and raised in Santa Barbara.
She said the only time she has left Santa Barbara was for family trips to Mexico and a junior high trip to New York City and Washington, D.C.
“I just want to leave for a little, and so I’m very, very excited. Breathing another environment and just forgetting about what I have here currently going on. I’m just overwhelmed,” said Ms. Tepeque.
This morning, Ms. Tepeque, her husband of four years Gustavo, Genesis, and their 8-month-old son, Isaiah, will hop on a Alaskan Airlines flight, one of the Foundation’s “sustaining partners,” and head to Hawaii for a week-long tropical getaway.
