21ST NOVEMBER 2022 – Michelangelo’s Pizzeria has been closed since November 7th due to a flood, but that didn’t stop the Rosales family from hosting their Make-A-Wish honoree’s send-off.
Local customer Tristen Graham is 7 and a half years old and attends Foothill Elementary. In 2019, Tristen was diagnosed with Leukemia, and his wish is to learn to surf in Hawaii.
Omar Rosales, manager at Michelangelo’s Pizzeria, recalls when he heard about Tristen’s wish. “Usually kids want to go to Disneyland or Disneyworld, but for him it was the surfing,” Rosales says, “I thought it was cool because he’s super tiny. Picture him with that huge surfboard!”
Last May, Michelangelo’s held their annual golf tournament fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Central California, knowing that they were directly helping to grant Tristen’s wish.
Because of COVID restrictions, the golf tournament and Tristen’s Hawaii trip had to be postponed. When the Rosales family discovered the flood in their kitchen earlier this month, Tristen’s send-off was postponed by another week.
Despite the setbacks, Tristen never budged on fulfilling his wish. “He really wants to surf in Hawaii,” Tyler Graham says, “They offered to change the location or the wish but we stuck with it.”
Based on the new health guidelines this year, Make-A-wish Central California was able to approve sending Tristen to Hawaii safely.
The restaurant hasn’t reopened yet, but Michelangelo’s was still able to host the send-off in their dining room, minus the famous pizza. Instead, all the guests wore leis and shared cupcakes.
Friends and family waved “Aloha” as Tristen began his trip to Hawaii on November 22nd.