Make-A-Wish Foundation is making a Santa Maria girl’s dream house come to life

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Katalina Covarrubias is interested in jiu jitsu, but the five-year-old has to fight something else first.

Covarrubias has to face her biggest fight, lymphoblastic lymphoma before she even turned five.

“It’s been very traumatic for her," said her mom, Cecilia Covarrubias. "I’m not sure how much she’ll remember but we have noticed she does get anxiety, panic attacks. We do know that she will have some sort of PTSD from it.”

Because Katalina shares a room with her sister and a house of three siblings with another on the way, finding a place to be herself is just what she needs.

So she created a dream board.

“She started getting pictures from magazine or told me to print out pictures and she made her own dream board of what she would like her dream room to look like," said Cecilia.

With the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, her dreams can come to life.

Local 805 Carpenters have done volunteer projects with the foundation in the past, but the reason for coming together on their own time remain the same.

“Projects like this are good for the soul," said carpenter Robert Fallon. "They make you feel good about yourself, you’re giving back, you’re helping out and sometimes that’s what life is all about.”

The finished product is not expected for a couple more weeks and Katalina has no idea what is in store.

“She thinks that the shed is just a tool shed," said Cecilia. "Stuff from the garage.”

It would not just be a space for her arts and crafts, but a space for her to think about others instead of herself.

“Be happy be brave be strong," said Cecilia. "That’s what she always prays for other children to be happy be brave be strong when they’re at the clinics or at the hospitals.”