National Organization Grants Bridgewater Child's Number One Wish (Video)

Several feet off the ground rests a tree house wrapped around a large tree, and boasting a front porch with space to grab hold of the zip-line and shoot out across the yard to the opposite side.

And a small plaque on the front of the tree house states, "Gianna's Tree House," in honor of the 9-year-old Martinsville resident whose wish was recently granted.

When she heard about Kids Wish Network, April Drive resident Lisa Balletta said, she jumped at the opportunity to try and grant one wish for her daughter Gianna, who suffers from a disease that has caused the left side of her heart to not function at all.

"I found out about the organization through my sister, who works with Rocking Horse Rehab," Balletta said. "I asked about the criteria to qualify for a wish, and, based on Gianna's history, she more than qualified."

Through the organization, volunteers were gathered to build a tree house and zip-line that Gianna could enjoy in her own backyard.

Gianna was born with the transposition of the great arteries, meaning that her pulmonary artery and aorta are switched.

"She has had three open heart surgeries since she was born," Balletta said. "But the doctors couldn't switch the arteries. So her left side is not functioning properly."

Balletta said she got information from Gianna's doctors, outlining the terminal condition, and sent it to Kids Wish Network with the request to have her daughter's wish considered and granted.

"We started this process six months ago," Balletta said. "They said they were backed up so it took several months before they contacted us."

The Kids Wish Network began in 1997 in an effort to work with terminally ill children to grant them their own individual wishes, said Jennifer Gasparovic, wish coordinator with the network. She said children come to the network through referrals and families, who send in applications for those qualified to receive a wish.

"We work with children with doctor-verified life-threatening illnesses," she said, adding that the network grants wishes to between 150 and 200 children each year. "They have to get the paperwork in, but it's not a difficult process."

Once the application is approved, Gasaprovic said, the child is assigned a wish coordinator, who handles all the preparations to grant the wish.

"It is my job to handle all the materials and services," she said. She said the network tries for a six- to eight-week turnaround on the wishes, but sometimes circumstances require a longer period. "We hope for that with a tangible item. But Gianna was kept in the loop because she was the one who wished it. She was very excited."

Once the network was prepared, Balletta said, it pulled out all the stops to build the tree house—complete with an outside swing and a zip-line from the tree house to another tree in the yard—which was Gianna's first wish.

Gasparovic said the application process includes having the children outline three different wishes, of which the network tries to fulfill number one, depending on if there is travel involved or a celebrity meeting request.

"We try to get as close to whatever the first wish is as possible," she said. "If it doesn't work, or if there are time issues, we try to do one of the others."

With help from Home Depot, Somerville Lumber and Treetop Builders, Balletta said the tree house was built in a span of about 12 hours Aug. 18.

"It was amazing," she said. "It was nice to see people wanting to donate their time to someone they don't even know."

Balletta said about 30 employees from the Bridgewater Home Depot on Route 28, and another on Route 202, gathered together to build the tree house, and food was donated by both Dunkin' Donuts and Home Depot.

"Home Depot donated all the items, and they all came here to volunteer," she said. "They couldn't be nicer."

In addition, Balletta said, Somerville Lumber donated a bag of stuffed animals because, in a biography distributed about Gianna, she mentioned that she liked them.

"It was all really amazing," Balletta said. "It was a little overwhelming, but everyone here was so kind and compassionate."

For Balletta, it was just amazing to see her daughter get her wish. She said she does not know about Gianna's future, and doctors cannot give her a definite prognosis because there are no more surgeries they can do.

Earlier this year, Balletta said, Gianna had a new health scare when doctors found internal bleeding, and she was in intensive care for two weeks.

"We were smooth sailing at the time, and that just shocked everyone," Balletta said. "Gianna was old enough to realize what was happening, and that really scared her."

And for her three other children—13-year-old Zachary, 11-year-old Alyssa and 7-year-old Kierra—it was difficult for them to watch their sister suffer, Balletta said.

"It was scary for everybody," she said. "They saw a lot, and everyone was older, so they knew how scary it was. To have ambulances, cops and EMTs come to your house is scary."

But, Balletta said, Gianna never lets her condition stop her from doing what she wants.

"She does everything, and we've never held her back," Balletta said of her daughter who has played sports, and whose most recent love is of horses. "We have raised her telling her to monitor herself, and she would, even as a baby."

Balletta said that, although her other three children were concerned seeing Gianna suffering, they have been excited to see her have her wish, and are looking forward to using the tree house and zip-line themselves.

"They were excited because they knew how it would also benefit them," she said with a laugh. "But they feel happy seeing Gianna get her wish."

Despite her health condition, Balletta said Gianna does not let it stop her from doing the things she wants to do, and being her own person.

"She now doesn't believe she has to stop," Balletta said. "The fear is gone, and hopefully, we can keep that up."