Maya McFadden Photos
Eliana with parents at Lighthouse Park.
After months in the hospital fighting a critical illness, 4‑year-old Eliana Palacio got some beach therapy Tuesday for the first time in a year.
A beach picnic for Eliana was organized at Lighthouse Point Park by Make-A-Wish Connecticut, the city’s Youth and Recreation Department, and other members of the community.
Dozens of family members and friends gathered at Lighthouse to celebrate Eliana and her love for the beach and water.
Senior Development Manager Christina Alt joined a team of Make-A-Wish staff setting up the beach picnic Tuesday morning with tables decorated with seashells, photos of Eliana, and beach chairs, so she could spend the day shaded from the warm sun while taking in the sea breeze smell and sounds of the crashing Long Island Sound waters.
The Tuesday picnic was the first Make-A-Wish has done at Lighthouse Park.
“The city and the community really rallied around us to make sure we could help Eliana spend the day in the sunshine,” Alt said.
All her life Eliana has loved water and the beach.
Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital staff gave Eliana’s family the approval to have her briefly leave the hospital once determining that transporting her was safe. Make-A-Wish team arranged the gathering in just a few days.
Eliana’s favorite movies, including Moana, Encanto, and Frozen, were a picnic theme. A beach wagon full of gifts included sunglasses, a Moana doll, and a beach pail for making sand castles.
The family was escorted to the beach in a limo by the police and fire departments.
Eliana turned 4 in June. A referral for her wish was submitted in December 2021 but was put on hold while she received several treatments at the start of the year.
Make-A-Wish connected with city Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Regina Rush-Kittle, who is a member of the Make-A-Wish Connecticut Board of Directors.
Rush-Kittle made calls to the police and fire departments and to Youth and Recreation Department Deputy Director Bill Dixon to reserve a spot on the beachfront for the family to gather.
Food for the picnic was donated by Jersey Mike’s North Haven and a personalized shore-side picnic area was made by the CT Picnic Company and charcuterie cups were donated by Boxed Bites CT.
“We’ve been touched by loss a little too much so we knew we really wanted to be a part of something that celebrates life,” said CT Picnic Company co-owner Michaela Morin.
Dixon made sure to get the carousel running for when Eliana arrived at the park.
The tables were decorated with several pictures of Eliana spending time over the years in small kids pools and in the sand at the beach.
Eliana was brought on a stretcher to the beach shore upon arrival. Her parents, Christine Dole and Richard Palacio, showered her in kisses and “I love you“s and described the scene of the beach waves to her. In flower sunglasses and a pacifier reading “Ocean love”, Eliana was held by family and friends throughout the day.
Family signed a shirt reading “I love you to the beach and back” and a donut water floatie with loving messages for Eliana and her parents.
The Tuesday view for Eliana and family.
Family and friends sign t-shirt for Eliana.
Thank you to all who made this happen for this sweet little girl. ♥️