Make-A-Wish Builds Pool For Sarasota Child With Heart Issues

SARASOTA, FL — Make-A-Wish Southern Florida has made a dream come true for a Sarasota child who has battled serious health issues her entire life.

Priscilla Granados Soto has always wanted her own backyard swimming pool, Make-A-Wish said in a news release. So, the nonprofit organization delivered, revealing the pool to the 8-year-old and her family and friends for the first time March 14.

Priscilla has spent much of her life hospitalized with complications from a congenital heart disease and has already undergone four surgeries. Make-A-Wish said she’s “relaxed and refreshed” by the water and excited to swim “in her own backyard.”

The wish reveal included a pool party for Priscilla and those close to her. Make-A-Wish with assistance from Sarasota Ford served up frozen virgin drinks at a tiki bar, played music so the guests could dance and gave additional gifts to Priscilla.

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“It was a big, big surprise. It was a lot more than expected. She is so happy and after being so sick at the hospital, this is just amazing,” her mother, Yirilien Granados Sot, said. “I can’t explain how my heart feels right now to see her smiling and swimming.”

Since 1983, Make-A-Wish Southern Florida has granted nearly 13,000 wishes for children battling critical illnesses at no cost or obligation to their families. The Southern Florida chapter’s territory includes 22 counties/four regions on the Suncoast, Tampa Bay, and in southwest and southeast Florida. It also includes the U.S. Virgin Islands.