Victoria Pelham

TDS

Ulises Duran's older sister carefully picked the 2-year-old up out of his stroller and helped him into the black stretch limousine Monday morning; still groggy, eyes half-closing, he cracked a small, shy smile for his family. His father followed closely behind, sporting a T-shirt with a photo of his son and a message from his birthday in June.

The family was on their way to Disneyland for a two-day all expenses paid trip — a getaway that followed months of bitter news, heartache, late nights and grueling treatments for Ulises, who was diagnosed with an extremely rare childhood form of brain cancer in April.

"We never thought we'd make this journey," said Gabriel Duran, Ulises's dad. "It's a dream that for us was practically impossible."

The Debbie Chisholm Memorial Foundation, a law enforcement wish-granting charity serving Riverside and San Bernardino counties, paid for the visit after meeting the family while delivering toys to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital. They pulled together Ulises's wish in the past week after learning he had been discharged from the hospital, the latest in 407 wishes the foundation has granted in its 20 years of existence.

"He's a very sick little guy, and we just want to make sure he gets this wish before he can't do anything," said Corky Bell, founder and executive director of the Yucca Valley-based foundation. "We had to put it together really quick."

The Durans had originally planned a family Disneyland vacation for August, unable to imagine what would end up standing in their way.

Doctors identified the brain tumor, known as an atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor, after the wide-eyed toddler had a month of regular vomiting and did not want to eat. Misdiagnosed with stomach infections, the Duran family visited two valley hospitals and even a clinic in Mexico before being sent to specialists at Loma Linda who conducted an MRI scan. In the months that followed, Ulises underwent a massive operation, two treatments of strong chemotherapy that had to be carefully mapped because of its toxicity to children, then 28 rounds of radiation. He was also given medications to prevent convulsions and nausea.

Gabriel left his market job in Indio in April when his bosses would not allow him to take enough time off for his son's treatments and to watch him. His wife, Elizabeth Rosa Del Vasquez, was left disabled in a serious car accident over a decade ago and unable to work, leaving the family to live off $780 each month in Social Security supplements for their son while he has been ill. Though they are grateful to have received a stay at the Ronald McDonald House, transportation to his treatment — more than an hour away from Coachella to Loma Linda, where he stayed for several months — has sometimes been difficult for the Durans, who do not own a car and rely on a relative's car that often breaks down on trips to the hospital.

At the end of September, Ulises' team of doctors examined his progress. They told his parents there was nothing more they could do for the boy; they'd done everything and it wasn't working on his body. He had developed more tumors.

"I try to enjoy each moment of time with my boy," Elizabeth said, like when he jumps and paces around their home or shouts "Mama! Mama!"

"We don't know what's going to happen," Gabriel said. "We try to live in the present, not what happened in the past or what might happen in the future."

Some days, Ulises wakes up throwing up or really hot. Other days, he can't stop crying and points to his head when adults ask what hurts him. A nurse visits every Monday to test his blood, but he has not been given pain medication. And his father can't leave him alone, because when he vomits, the mother would not be able to help.

The family says the cancer ordeal has been ugly and terrifying, as they point to photos of young Ulises in tubes, with scars on his head. But even in many of the photos in some of the darkest moments, he's smiling — smiles that have carried the entire Duran family through.

"I think he's really strong," his 9-year-old sister Marvet said, pausing to think about what he would be like as a grownup.

Sitting in the family's living room, Ulises picks up and hands papers and cell phones to the adults in the room, his eyes twinkling and laughing when they take them or tell him it's not theirs. He walks back and forth, from couch to couch. And when his favorite "Gummy Bears" song starts playing on his sister's musical device, he doesn't hesitate — his little hips start jumping to the rhythm, his index finger poking out, an infectious grin on his face. Though he does not speak, he punctuates the somber conversation and choked-up voices with his own brand of "mischievous" fun.

How could he not enjoy Disneyland, his father exclaims.

And this week, as the limousine whisks the family away to "The Happiest Place On Earth," they hope to forget about the sadness, the fear — to forget about the cancer, if only for a few days.

"Through all that has happened, he smiles, laughs and plays," Gabriel said. "He is the joy of our family."

How to help

• Contact the Debbie Chisholm Memorial Foundation at (760) 776-7699 or by email at dcmfwishes@roadrunner.com

• The family has said they struggle with transportation and specifically clothes for 2-year-old Ulises, who is growing quickly and has outgrown all of his current outfits.