A 4-year-old girl living with cystic fibrosis wants to go Disney World, and Eagle Valley High is rallying the valley to make it happen

Before Marlee Emore was born, her parents found out that her life would be different than most children. Marlee, now 4, has cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening illness that affects the lungs and digestive system.

“When we first found out she was going to have CF and her life expectancy wasn’t very long, my husband and I decided we were not going to keep her in a bubble,” said Stacey Emore, Marlee’s mom.

For Marlee, living with cystic fibrosis includes taking 40 to 50 pills daily and several extra precautions and considerations, but none of it has held Marlee back at all.  

---

---

“She is all fun,” Stacey said. “She just loves life, loves trying everything: snowmobiling, go-karting, dirt biking, skiing, horseback riding. She’s quite charismatic. And, going through all the things that she does on a daily basis has certainly never, ever slowed her down — not one bit.”

“She’s pretty inspirational,” Stacey added.

---

---

In addition to inspiring her family, Marlee was selected as this year’s Wish Kid for Eagle Valley High School’s seventh annual Wish Week, which raises funds for Make a Wish Colorado.

The 2024 fundraiser kicked off on Wednesday, March 6, with an assembly, the first of many Wish Week events.

During Wish Week, Eagle Valley High School and its community rally around a Wish Kid to raise funds not only to make their wish come true but to help grant wishes for kids from all across Colorado who are living with a critical illness.

In 2023, the school and community raised over $31,000 for Make-a-Wish — enough to grant around four wishes.

This year, the school hopes to raise enough to grant even more wishes, said Audrey Tatro, a junior at Eagle Valley High School who is part of planning Wish Week.        

Eagle Valley is one of 200 schools across the state that support Make-a-Wish Colorado with Wish Weeks. One in three wishes for Colorado kids is funded through school fundraisers, according to Sarah Grosh, the director of community development with Make-a-Wish Colorado. And, in its seventh year, Eagle Valley High School is one of the organization’s longest-standing supporters on the Western Slope, she added.

“The fact that these schools are really rallying the community speaks to the mission of Make-a-Wish because we can’t grant a single wish without the support of every single community member,” Grosh said. “It really does take the entire community. And I think that’s what’s so beautiful about Wish Week is every student across grades, across sports teams, across clubs comes together to rally around and celebrate one family and grant wishes for kids like them.”

The Emore family was connected to Make-a-Wish through a CF moms’ group, Stacey said.

“It turned out to be a great opportunity for us; Marlee works so hard every single day and this was something that we could do to show her just how you know special she is,” Stacey said.

When first asked, Marlee’s only wish was to go on an airplane. However, after some brainstorming the family helped her decide on a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.

“Marlee is so into princesses and anything ‘Frozen’ and ‘Rapunzel,'” Emore said.

Once granted, Marlee and her family — which includes her parents and two sisters — will get a six-day, seven-night trip to Walt Disney World. The organization covers all expenses including lodging, food and even FastPasses.

Granting wishes — whether it’s Disney or other dreams — “gives kids that strength to continue to fight,” Grosh said.

Grosh noted that while the funds raised through Wish Week will go to fund the wishes for many Colorado kids, “Marlee is sharing her story so that other kids like her can have their wish granted too.”

“That’s really powerful for the families as well — to be surrounded by the community and feel love for them, but also to find purpose in their own journey and their own story and help other kids get a wish,” Grosh said.

For the Emore family, deciding to participate in Eagle Valley’s Wish Week was just another way to make the whole wish experience as special as it can be.

---

Be more informed in 2025.

Sign up for daily or weekly newsletters at VailDaily.com/newsletter

---

“As her mom, I know she’s special. But to see complete strangers all band together for her, I can’t even put words to just how grateful we are that we have this opportunity,” Emore said. “It goes to show to Marlee that her hard work is not for nothing.”

Plus, the family hopes that it can help shed more light and awareness on living with CF: “We’re so close to a cure that just getting this out there is really our main goal,” she added.

After kicking off Wish Week on Wednesday, Eagle Valley High School will host several events over the next week. This includes everything from a ski day and sport tournaments to trivia, movie nights and more — all culminating in a bonfire next Wednesday, March 13.

“All of our Wish Week events are open to the whole community, it’s not just high school students,” Tatro said.

This is Tatro’s third year helping plan Wish Week.

“It means a lot to be able to give back, to be able to help a kid who is really in need and be involved in something that’s bigger than myself,” Tatro said, adding that the best part is having the Wish Kid at the school for its opening and closing assemblies.

“Having that kid be in the gymnasium with the rest of the high school, and all these kids are just there to support Marley and her wish, it’s always awesome to see how uplifting that is to the kid and the family. It’s a really special moment of a community coming together to do some good for one kid that definitely needs it.”

To donate virtually to Eagle Valley’s 2024 Wish Week, visit Site.Wish.Org/GoTo/EagleValley.