CCSO helps build playhouse for Make A Wish participant

PEARCE, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Cochise County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Make A Wish Foundation in helping a young Pearce, AZ resident.

Six-year-old Skye is Elsa’s biggest fan and loves the movie Frozen. She loves anything she finds that has Elsa on it and she loves Elsa’s ice palace with its tall spires of ice.

That is why her wish to have a playhouse just like Elsa’s ice castle was quite a challenge to her volunteer wish granters – how do you create something from ice that will stay together in the Arizona desert?

Volunteers Roxy and Rachel worked with Skye and her family to come to a happy compromise – an incredible playhouse that would be a little more sturdy than an ice palace but would still be Frozen inspired.

“Skye really wanted something she would have forever,” said Jennifer, Skye’s mother. “When we first met with her wish granter volunteers, they talked to her about trips and about meeting celebrities but she kept coming back to wanting a playhouse because she would ‘always have it’ she said.”

Roxy and Rachel went to work while Skye continued her treatments for leukemia. Working through doctors appointments, hospital stays and lots of chemotherapy, Skye was always kept in the loop on what was happening with her playhouse.

“She asked about it all the time,” said Jennifer. “I am not sure she really considered the fact that she was getting the playhouse because she was sick but it did give her something positive to focus on during tough times in the hospital.”

Big G’s Buildings, a local portable building company, helped to secure a shed that would not only fit Skye but also her brother Ethan and her sister Juniper. Once the shed was purchased, Big G went to work converting the building into a playhouse with a custom mural of Elsa (and Anna and Olaf), plus some other perks that were a big surprise to Skye and her family.

“We saw pictures of what it the shed might look like but we never knew they were doing so much inside to really make it special just for Skye,” said Jennifer. “That was a big surprise.”

The entire community came out to help move the playhouse into place in Skye’s yard, including the Cochise County Sheriff's Department, the Pearce Fire Department, friends and family. Plus, professional photographer Patina Thompson was on site to capture the fun. Skye also was treated like a true Frozen princess before her playhouse arrived – complete with a hairstylist, nail technician and even an Elsa dress to match her new playhouse. “When she saw it, she could not stop pointing and jumping up and down, ready to get into it,” said Jennifer. “When she saw the inside, she was in heaven.”

The inside of the playhouse includes a loft with a bed just for Skye, a ladder going up to the loft and a chandelier that offers some light if she wants to play in the evenings. It also includes furniture on the bottom floor and a special Elsa rug.

“We camped out in the playhouse the first night she had it and now, since she is homeschooled, her playhouse is her recess fun and as soon as we are done with lessons, she heads out to ‘her house’,” said Jennifer. “She is even coming in to borrow my broom so she can make sure the floor isn’t dusty.”

“I believe this playhouse is going to be a great way to mark her end of treatment,” said Jennifer. “And it’s something that will allow her to make memories for a long, long time.”