A Craft and Crochet Dream Room for Yami

Meet Yami. She is 11 years old, loves to crochet, and is fighting leukemia. For over a year and a half, her life has been a whirlwind of doctor’s appointments, hospital stays, and rounds of chemotherapy. This battle has been extremely hard on Yami and her family who have been there to support her every step of the way. Yami shares a bedroom with her 9-year-old brother, Gabriel, and lives in El Cajon with her mom, grandparents, and aunt. Rady’s Children’s Hospital shared the Designing Dreams mission with Yami’s mom and, through our bedroom sponsor ClickUp, we were able to take on this bedroom transformation project.  With the help of Bungalow 56 Interiors, Nicolls Construction, Alana’s Organizing, and many donors and volunteers we were able to make Yami’s dream room come true.

Yami’s Story

One day Yami wasn't feeling well and was experiencing a lot of pain. Her mother took her to the doctors and after completing bloodwork, Yami was admitted to the ICU where she remained for over a month. She was diagnosed with ALL (leukemia) and began a 3.5-year treatment plan. Yami is halfway through treatment. Yami shares a bedroom with her 9-year-old brother, Gabriel, who loves all things soccer.

“She has been really positive since day one. She is a strong girl, she has endured pain and has never complained or cried asking when is it going to end. She always has a smile even if she is having a rough day with the treatment.” - Yami’s Mom

The Wishlist

• A space for Yami to store her yarn and crocheted creations
• A bean bag for lounging
• Comfortable Mattresses
• A sound machine with nature sounds
• More storage/organization
• Bright light colors

The Design

The Design for the bedroom transformation was completed by Bungalow 56. They created a fun, bright, organized space where Yami could heal and craft. The first challenge was how small the space was. It needed to have a bunk bed, clothing storage for both children, toy storage, and a revamped closet. Additionally,  a top priority was finding a way to make a wall of yarn and craft supplies so we stole some space from the covered patio and made her dream craft room come true. 

The Reveal

After months of work, the moment finally came to reveal the room to Yami and her family. As Yami and Gabriel walked in, their eyes lit up with excitement and when Yami saw her wall of yarn she shrieked with glee. It was truly a magical experience for all of us involved to be able to bring so much joy to a family in need. 

Check out the reveal video here: Yami’s Bedroom Transformation and our brief segment on Fox5 San Diego!

“This has helped all of us to see this journey with a more positive view. Because we see her happiness when she goes to her room, we know that she will have even more strength to keep going and not give up, even if once in a while the times are rough.” - Yami’s mom

We would like to thank the following companies for making this possible:

ClickUp - Bedroom Sponsor

Nicolls Construction - Contractors for craft room

Bungalow 56 - Interior Designers

To make more dream rooms come true for kids like Yami, donate to our mission today.