The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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  • Sydney Lusk of Mullens enjoys her new play set Saturday. “This is the only reason I do this. Just seeing a kid that happy,” Make-A-Wish worker Jeffrey Ott said. W. Dayton Whittle

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August 29, 2010

Make-A-Wish installs play set for girl

By Andrea Lannom Register-Herald Reporter

MULLENS — Little Sydney Lusk was happily running around, playing with her friends and family on her new Rainbow Play Set that the Make-A-Wish Foundation had installed Saturday.

Yet not that long ago, the 7-year-old Mullens resident spent many days in the hospital when she was first diagnosed with lupus.

Tabitha Lusk, Sydney’s mother, said it’s been a long journey for the family.

“Sydney got sick when she was 4 years old and she was misdiagnosed several times,” Tabitha said. “She had many blood transfusions and the medicine she was on was causing her to have ulcers. Everyone seemed to think she had cancer, but then all the tests came back negative.”

Nothing was working, Tabitha said. After taking Sydney to another doctor, Tabitha received bad news.

“The doctor diagnosed her with lupus and we were all surprised because it’s not a children’s disease at all,” she said. “The doctor then told us that if we didn’t do something fast that she would die.”

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body. The immune system can’t tell the difference between germs and healthy tissue and creates autoantibodies which attack and destroy healthy tissue.

Tabitha took her daughter to the hospital after the diagnosis and Sydney was not able to walk. Tabitha recalled how she had to carry her into the hospital. The family braced themselves for the worst.

“She had no strength,” she said. “The doctors felt certain that she would die.”

Yet just a few years later, Sydney is doing better.

“It’s hard to imagine that she was ever sick with how much better she is now,” Tabitha said.

Make-A-Wish, an organization that grants wishes for children with life-threatening illness, got in contact with the Lusks around two months ago. Sydney’s wish? She wanted nothing more than to have a Rainbow Play Set in her backyard.

“What really caught me about Sydney is that she’s such a cheerful girl,” Make-A-Wish worker Jeffrey Ott said. “She just has such a resolve to get better and doesn’t complain about pain or anything.”

Working from 9 a.m. Saturday, the volunteers finally put up the play set and unveiled it to Sydney at 5 p.m. Until then, Tabitha said even going up the driveway and seeing the balloons saying Make-A-Wish didn’t tip Sydney off.

“She had no idea,” she said. “She thought someone else was getting a wish.”

When she arrived and saw the play set, Sydney couldn’t contain her excitement.

“She got out of the car and hugged her mom and then came over to me and hugged me,” Ott said. “This is the only reason I do this. Just seeing a kid that happy.”

Sydney said her play set was all she ever wanted.

“I love it,” she said. “I love the slide and the swings. It’s all I imagined it to be.”

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