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"Blue," 11-year-old Adeja responded Saturday when asked what color she wanted her scooter to be.
She was wearing a Make-A-Wish T-shirt and talking through a mask to protect her from germs after a procedure that will hopefully cure her of a painful disease first diagnosed when she was just 2 months old.
Every decision this day would be up to the sixth-grader -- from the toys she picked out for herself to the restaurant, Chili's in Burlington, where Adeja, her siblings and parents would break for lunch before stops at several other stores.
When given a choice by the nonprofit Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses, Adeja decided on the shopping spree -- although she asked to make sure it was OK to buy something for her family as well.
Along the aisles of the High Point Road toy store Saturday, she was reveling in her choice.
"It's good to see her happy," said older sister Tamarra, 15, as Adeja, escorted by store mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe, picked up a "Monsters vs. Aliens" movie on DVD.
Adeja, who along with her family was picked up in a white limo for the daylong trip, has an extreme diagnosis of sickle cell disease, with episodes so painful that her mother enrolled her in a treatment that also required a long-term stay at Duke University Medical Center.
"She's been sick all of her life, and we almost lost her twice," said her mother, Bridgett Dawson. "Sometimes we were in the hospital three weeks out of the month. I've always been direct with all she's going through. She also knows the God I serve. Even when she would be hurting ... she would grab my hand and say, 'Let's pray.' That's how we got through it."
Since the recent procedure, the results have been promising, said her stepfather, Jermaine Dawson.
"After 108 days, two weeks ago, they're seeing no trace of sickle cell in her body," he said of the stem cell transplant Adeja underwent.
She was released from the hospital two weeks ago, ahead of schedule. "That's awesome, and we are really thanking God."
As Adeja continued around Toys R Us picking up Sponge Bob items and puzzles, her younger brother Joshua, 6, also grabbed a toy. The nonprofit gave each of her siblings a $50 gift card.
"We do this so they can be more involved," said Cheryl Russell, a volunteer for the Make-A-Wish who helped organize the trip. "This (illness) impacts the whole family, not just Adeja."
For Adeja's parents, that meant essentially moving with her to Durham during her hospitalization and leaving the siblings back in High Point with relatives. While they were away, they were robbed. They have since lost their home because they could no longer afford it.
But Saturday was all about keeping Adeja smiling.
By the time she left Toys R Us, the erstwhile tomboy had to make only one concession to the day of wishes. The store only had the scooter she wanted in pink, which is not her favorite color.
Contact Nancy McLaughlin at 373-7049 or nancy.mclaughlin@news-record.com
To see more of the News & Record or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.news-record.com. Copyright (c) 2009, News and Record, Greensboro, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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