Quinceanera slated Saturday

Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 08/24/2008 08:12:25 PM PDT

Since she was little, Jasmyne Frando has dreamed of being the belle of the ball at the centuries-old Latino ritual known as the quinceanera.

She dreamed of the event marking a girl's 15th birthday as she sat in class in elementary school.

At middle school, with the day she would turn 15 no longer so far away, it was often on her mind.

Then, at 13, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and life didn't leave much time for thoughts of pretty gowns and special dances.

Enter the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization which enriches the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting work.

And with the help of the foundation and others in the community, Jasmyne's long-awaited quinceanera will take place Saturday at Victory Chapel and then the Knights of Columbus hall in San Bernardino.

"It has been a little bit of stress but mostly exciting, because it is something I have wanted for so long," said the 15-year-old San Bernardino girl as she paid a recent visit to the chapel.

Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has given hope, strength and joy to children. It now grants a child's wish in the U.S. every 40 minutes.

Jasmyne, the youngest child of Veronica Frando, a single mother of four, first realized she was seriously ill when she started throwing up and losing her eyesight for seconds at a time.

Soon after she was given the diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic

leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells, at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center.

In the months ahead, she underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital.

It was an isolated and sanitized time, said her mother.

"She grew pale, lost her hair and experienced mood swings we could not understand," she said.

Jasmyne most missed being with her classmates in eighth grade and hanging out with friends on the weekend.

Through it all she was the strong one who used to tell her mother, "Don't worry, God has me in His hands."

It was Loma Linda hospital employees who made the initial contact with Make-A-Wish.

The foundation then contacted Jasmyne at the hospital and asked her to write down her biggest wish and three backup wishes.

The No. 1 wish was to have her quinceanera. The others were to go to Hawaii, be the owner of a candy store for a day and meet the Raiderettes.

The wish to be a party girl surrounded by family and friends was granted, and volunteer wish granter Janet Fraser was assigned to make sure it came to fruition.

Victory Chapel was lined up for the services, with the help of Deanna Adams, who runs the historic chapel.

"I knew when Jasmyne and her mother came in, I wanted to make it as special as possible," said Adams.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of dress fittings, sending out more than 200 invitations, lining up a limousine and getting her damas, similar to bridesmaids, and chambelanes, male escorts who accompany the damas, on board.

"It's a little scary," Jasmyne said. "All I want is a day me, my friends and family can enjoy."

And when the day she dreamed about for so long is over, there will be new goals to replace it.

In the future, the 15-year-old hopes to finish high school, go to college and become a crime investigator.