SAN ANTONIO — 10-year-old Camila Rosado is spending her holiday season helping others -- working with Gabriela's Smile Foundation to organize a toy drive for kids battling cancer at The Children's Hospital of San Antonio.
"If it makes kids happy, it will make me happy, too," Rosado said. "I like to see happy faces and smiling faces and cheer."
Rosado is on a journey of her own. Her parents say she was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG. It's a rare brain stem tumor with treatments - but no cure - that targets children, usually between the ages of five and ten.
Her parents said her wish was to help make sure other kids in the hospital had happy holidays - so she organized a toy drive. She collected donations from Schertz Elementary School and at Smokey Mo's BBQ.
"Santa came to visit Camila in advance and she expressed her desire to be one of his elves and she wanted to help kids fighting cancer," Camila's mom, Sharon Rosado, said.
Omar and Sharon Rosado hope sharing her story will also raise awareness of DIPG, and that increased knowledge of the condition will encourage funding to help find a cure. They also hope all parents will keep an eye out for symptoms, and cherish the time they have with their children.
"Don’t minimize symptoms, because all this started with headaches, and as parents we think, drink more water, watch less TV, allergies - we minimize symptoms," Rosado said. "Just pay attention to your kids, because sometimes little symptoms being present often can be something."
Knowing that their daughter's focus was helping others is meaningful.
"It's so emotional… we’re very proud of her," Omar Rosado said.
Smokey Mo's locations across San Antonio will be accepting toy donations through December 20th. You can learn more about the Gabriela's Smile Foundation and support for local families dealing with DIPG by clicking here.