By Deborah Sullivan Brennan From The San Diego Union -Tribune

Saturday afternoon Leona Evans took the helm of her own backyard pirate ship, starting a new passage in her journey through childhood leukemia.

The 5-year-old San Marcos girl received the custom playhouse through Make-A-Wish San Diego, which grants the wishes of children with critical illnesses.

Make-A-Wish staff and volunteers installed the treehouse Saturday morning, while Leona and her family visited the Maritime Museum in San Diego. She came home, donned a custom pirate princess dress, and then stepped into the backyard with a shy smile to launch her adventure.

“I’m going to steer the wheel to where the gold is, in the jungle,” she said.

Leona was diagnosed with leukemia in July, and soon began a course of aggressive chemotherapy treatments to combat the disease. Leona, who her mom describes as a “feisty redhead,” braved the fatigue, pain and nausea with characteristic spunk.

“Through it all she has maintained a bright spirit and a fantastic attitude,” said her grandmother, Kathryn Scroggin.

Shortly after her diagnosis, the family visited Disneyland and stayed in the Pirates of the Caribbean suite at Disneyland Hotel, decorated with gold doubloons and movie props. During their trip, they boarded the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and got stuck for 20 minutes in the middle of the cannon battle. Far from being scared, Leona was entranced with pirates after that.

“They fight and jump and get on board,” she said, explaining her fascination.

Soon she was asking for eye patches and toy swords. So it wasn’t surprising when she decided to use her wish for a pirate ship of her own. Leona described her dream ship, and the team worked to make it happen. It had to have a monkey, sails and a treasure chest, she told them. And she wanted a table in the cabin equipped with craft supplies.

Make-A-Wish worked with Canada-based Charmed Playhouses to build the vessel to her specifications. A local contractor, Sierra Pacific West Inc., graded the land, and Brewer Crane provided a construction crane to lift the 3,000-pound ship over the family’s home into their backyard.

Volunteers from a local company, ViaSat, planted flowers around the ship Saturday morning. And Nephi Garcia, an Orange-County based costumer whose company, Designer Daddy, produces pint-sized princess gowns, whipped up a burgundy silk and lace pirate gown that Leona wore to explore her new ship.

“It’s a place she can pretend and play and live her life outside of what she’s dealing with,” said wish coordinator Kiley El Ward.

That’s important to Leona and her family, who are dealing with the restrictions imposed by her illness and rigorous treatment regimen. Leona has completed six months of a 2½-year course of chemotherapy, said her mother, Michelle Evans. She’s over the most intensive part and her prognosis is good. But there’s still a long voyage ahead, and hazards she faces.

Because of her illness and chemotherapy sessions, Leona couldn’t enroll in kindergarten as planned, Scroggin said. And even a trip to a neighborhood park can be dangerous for Leona, whose immune system is disrupted by the powerful anti-cancerdrugs. So having a pirate ship playhouse in her backyard brings the world of adventure to her.

“It’s a very clean environment,” said her mother. “We don’t have to take her to the park and risk getting sick. We can have friends over here, whom we know are healthy. It’s a pirate princess paradise.”

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Five-year-old  Leona Evans, a leukemia patient had her wish of becoming a pirate, and having a pirate ship playhouse of her own come true, courtesy of Make-A-Wish San Diego, February 17, 2018. (Howard Lipin)