Beauty beats the Beast
Photos by MITCHELL BONDS/Press Brystol Lenz, 3, center, gets help from Princess Belle, played by Ashlee Karras of Spokane, in assembling her sundae at her cancer-free party Sunday afternoon in Post Falls.
Brystol Lenz, right, bounces on her new trampoline Sunday afternoon with her sisters Arianna, left, and Adalynn. The trampoline was part of a wish granted by Make-A-Wish Idaho.
MITCHELL BONDS/Press Brystol Lenz, left, shares a moment with her dad, Kurt Lenz, at her cancer-free party on Sunday in Post Falls.
MITCHELL BONDS/PressMelanie Lambrecht, left, and Shawn Langenderfer with Make-A-Wish Idaho prepare sundae toppings for Brystol Lenz's cancer-free party Sunday afternoon in Post Falls.
MITCHELL BONDS/Press Brystol Lenz, center, gazes at her favorite Disney princess, Belle, played by Ashlee Karras, left, while mom Brittney Lenz and sister Arianna look on Sunday afternoon in Post Falls.
MITCHELL BONDS/Press From left, Arianna Lenz, Adalaynn Lenz, Ashlee Karras, Brittney Lenz, and Dan Butsick attend a party for Brystol Lenz, front, on Sunday in Post Falls. Brystol, whose fourth birthday is in two weeks, has beaten kidney cancer.
MITCHELL BONDS/Press Brystol Lenz, center, gets a surprised first look at her favorite Disney princess, Belle, played by Ashlee Karras, front, at a party in Post Falls on Sunday. Brystol, 3, has beaten kidney cancer.
By MITCHELL BONDS
Staff Writer
At 3 years old coming on 4, Brystol Lenz is cancer-free.
"I can't believe she has so much energy," said her mom, Brittney Lenz. "She just keeps jumping on that trampoline!"
Six months ago, that wasn't the case; Brystol had a Wilms tumor — the most common form of kidney cancer in children, according to the American Cancer Foundation.
"She had her kidney removed and went through all that awful stuff that comes with cancer, lost her hair, all that," Brittney said.
"It was the hardest thing ever," said Brystol's dad, Kurt Lenz.
But after successfully beating back the villain through months of chemotherapy, Brystol is back to being a Disney-obsessed bundle of smiles.
"She finished chemotherapy in February, and is cancer-free. She's doing amazing, she's so positive," Brittney said. "She just inspires me, especially as a mom."
"It's amazing," Kurt said. "Seeing her getting her hair and her strength back was amazing."
The trampoline Brystol and her friends played on Sunday afternoon, a gigantic backyard model fitted with safety netting and filled with colorful inflatable balls, was a gift from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, as was a visit from Brystol's favorite Disney princess, Belle.
Dan Butsick, Brystol's stepdad, laughed as an awed Brystol met her idol.
"It was the most adorable thing," Butsick said. "She like, bowed down to the princess."
Princess Belle — or Ashlee Karras as she's known when she's not wearing the sparkling yellow ball gown — distributed hugs and escorted Brystol through the line to make ice cream sundaes. Brystol picked mint chocolate chip ice cream and decorated it with gummy bears and Reese's Pieces candies.
"We never do this much sugar," Brittney said. "Usually we bribe her with cantaloupe. She gets lots of fruits and veggies."
Karras has been working with Make-A-Wish for more than a year.
"I do an unlimited number of these," Karras said as the party was winding down and she was leaving to get in her Honda, still wearing the hoop skirt and all. "I do one party a weekend, if not more.
"The best part is the joy on the child's face, the shock that there's a princess come to visit them. A lot of the time, the kids we do this for can't go to Disneyland, so to bring it to their home — that magic experience is the best."
It wasn't just a princess making Brystol's day special, either. Helping organize the party, getting the trampoline and a Cozy Cottage Playhouse, and serving up sundaes were Shawn Langenderfer and Melanie Lambrecht of Make-A-Wish Idaho.
"(Brystol) just finished in the spring," Langenderfer said. "She'll still be going in for testing, usually for five years, less and less as they go on. But for now, she's doing great."
Langenderfer says it's fun to work with Make-A-Wish.
"We take something not so good and turn it into something good for the kids," she said. "Even them looking forward to the wish is medicinal. It's fun for me because instead of just seeing it, I worked in it and I got to experience it with the kid."
"We had the most amazing support," Brittney said. "I can't express how grateful I am to Make-A-Wish."