August 20, 2004

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Publication Date: Friday, August 20, 2004

Poodle party for Paige

What better way for a 5-year-old to celebrate life than with clowns, cotton candy, balloons, firefighters, pizza, and cake and ice cream? They - and much more - were plentiful at the party given by the friends of Paige Taylor in the spring.

Paige, 5, was diagnosed a year ago with an aggressive muscle tissue cancer. By February she had gone through 42 weeks of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery treatments. So her friends decided to throw a bash with 300 guests to let her have a great big day of fun.

"It was a day to put all her worries aside and celebrate life," said Sheri Juarez, who hosted the party with her husband Rick at their Ruby Hill home. Their daughter Kyler has been Paige's best friend since they met at Gingerbread Preschool two years ago.

"The party was also to give the Taylor family a chance to thank people," said Juarez. "We'd done a meal drive, and donated toys and crafts to do in hospital. It was a way to get everyone together to say thank you. Even doctors and nurses from Stanford showed up."

Paige's parents, Rosemary and Christopher Taylor, had been feeling down, said Juarez. "But when we showed them the list of donations her face lit up," she said. Friends Julie Pratt, Dianne Laurence and Martha Martinez were in charge of contacting vendors for contributions to help make the day truly fantastic.

"We had two jumpers, a face painter, and Snow White showed up. And we had the most amazing students from Amador High," Juarez added. "Twenty-two students worked at the booth to do nails, makeup and hair."

The theme was poodles - with both chocolate and vanilla giant poodle cakes donated by Nolan's, topped by ice cream, courtesy of Cold Stone Creamery. It was a costume party, and Paige dressed as a '50s girl in, of course, a poodle skirt. Paige also has a real poodle she named Poodle Cotton Tail.

Paige's first wish, which she made to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, had been to dance with a prima ballerina. This wish was fulfilled by the San Francisco Ballet at a rehearsal last winter. KRON Channel 4 devoted a segment to it on their news show, said Juarez.

"She pretended to be ballerina," she recalled. "She had a little tutu on, and a ballerina picked her up and had her fly through the air."

Paige's second wish was to ride on a fire truck, and this wish came true at the party, thanks to the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department. Firefighters gave Paige a ride on their fire engine, and the other children got to use the giant hose.

One hundred children attended the party, said Juarez.

"My pediatrician made 100 pins saying 'We love Paige' and 'Paige is great,'" said Juarez. "We had a huge photo of her with her poodle. Everybody signed it and she has it framed over her bed at home."

"Each child held a balloon and made a wish for her," she added. "When Paige made her wish and blew out the candles, they all let the balloons go."

Paige had a good summer, Juarez reported. The doctors removed the central line from her chest that had been inserted for her chemotherapy treatments, so she was able to swim and enjoy the hot weather.

Last week Paige returned to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford for surgery and further treatments, but she will be out to start kindergarten Aug. 30 at Vintage Hills Elementary School, said Juarez. She also attended its Kids Club Camp this summer.

But the party given by the community in April was something really special.

"She enjoyed the entire day. She went from activity to activity," said Juarez. "She stayed until 5, although it was supposed to end at 3, and gave me the biggest hug. She said, 'Thank you for the best party in the whole wide world.'"

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