Young girl has dream come true

Nichole Davis

Friday, June 27, 1997 | 11:17 a.m.

Wearing a beaded white, satin dress, Brenda Diaz stood with her violin tucked beneath her chin and played her heart out during a performance at the Clark County School District headquarters.

Thursday evening marked the first time Brenda had performed with the Cahlan Elementary School Suzuki class, but she looked like a pro. The 9-year-old third-grader is afflicted with a fast-growing cancer and has been taking classes at home twice a week as a part of the Homebound program.

"I like the music," she said. "I've wanted to play since I got sick."

Although she hasn't been on campus all year, teachers and administrators at her home school, Manch Elementary, wanted to make her dream a reality, so Principal Donna Barber contacted her friend Tyra Tripp, a first-grade teacher at Cahlan, who runs the free Suzuki class. Brenda has been taking private lessons at Tripp's home for the last month.

"It was just a natural thing to do," the teacher said. "She wanted to do it."

It's been a healing exercise for Brenda and her family. The youngster, who is attached to the Nathan Adelson Hospice, was recently taken off all her treatments by doctors who said there was nothing more that could be done. But the violin has put a smile back on her face and dried some of her mother's tears. Her father, Jose, comes to all the lessons and learns the technique so he can instruct her at home, teachers said.

"He comes to every lesson, stays there and tries," Tripp said. "She really shows some potential."

For his part, her dad, who speaks little English, said he was glad to do it.

"He said he feels happy, because that's what I like," he said through Brenda.

Diaz was in remission in November and was planning to go back to school, but her fast-acting cancer would not be denied. No one knows how much time she has left, as doctors and hospice specialists have given different answers.

"School is so important to these kids," Homebound teacher Sheila Smith said of the terminally ill students who participate in her program. "You wouldn't think so, but when they're not there, it hurts them so much. They miss the interaction."

Violin performances are just one of the ways Brenda's teachers and classmates have rallied around her. One teacher opened her home to the girl and gave her a huge birthday party June 18. Classmates dedicated a talent show to her and raised money through a penny drive.

"She wasn't even on their campus, and they've taken such ownership of her," Smith said. "She doesn't feel like she's being left out. It's awesome."

Barber and staff attended Brenda's concert Thursday and penciled in her next performance in three weeks. They said it would have been hard not to open their hearts.

"She has a lot of pride and dignity," Barber said. "She wanted to do everything."