A Wish Fulfilled

December 25, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

Girard

Darlene Fitzgerald, 61, of Youngstown teared up as she savored the first manicure and spa treatments of her life.

Fitzgerald’s day at the New Dawn Salon and Day Spa in Hubbard came on the heels of an acute lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosis and months of treatment that she described simply as “hell.”

These days, Fitzgerald spends a lot of time in the hospital. She’s lost a lot of weight and, this summer, she was scarcely able to step outside and enjoy the sun.

But, for once, Fitzgerald was able to experience a day out on the town, thanks to a foundation created by another local woman.

Diana Johnson, 38, of Girard dreamed up the Drop in the Bucket Foundation after being told this June that her case of Common Variable Immune Deficiency, a rare autoimmune disorder, was terminal.

After the terminal diagnosis, Johnson felt it was time to consider her own bucket list and decided that her only wish was to grant the wishes of others.

Since most wish-granting charities focus on children, Drop in the Bucket, which is funded through the nonprofit Community Foundation of Western Pennsylvania and Northeastern Ohio, focuses on the wishes of local adults with terminal or serious chronic illness.

Due to her worsening condition, it can be difficult for Johnson to leave the house. In addition to experiencing frequent nausea and severe pain, Johnson has lost much of her sight and must walk with a cane.

Still, Johnson was able to venture out to the New Day Salon to see her foundation grant its first wish. She couldn’t miss it, she said.

“Seeing Darlene is exactly what I dreamed,” Johnson said.

Fitzgerald’s wish application caught her attention, Johnson remembered.

“It was so simple in a way, and so visceral to me as a woman,” Johnson said. “She said, ‘I want to feel pretty,’ which is something that, really, everyone wants.”

In addition to a spa day, Drop in the Bucket treated Fitzgerald and her two daughters, Tracy and Lisa, to a limousine ride, a shopping spree at J.C. Penney and dinner at the Fifth Floor Restaurant. Lisa noted that it is rare to see her mother taking time for herself.

“Mom is very caring,” Lisa said. “She’s put lots of people up in her home. She’s fed lots of people. But, through the years, she’s had a lot of health problems. She still has that big heart but can’t do as much.”

At one point, someone ushered Diana’s mother, Virginia, into a group picture. Virginia politely declined, indicating that the moment belonged to Darlene and Diana.

“It’s theirs,” she said. “It’s theirs.”