Girl with cancer finally gets playhouse after homeowner's association fight

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Thursday, April 2, 2015
Girl with cancer granted playhouse
A little girl with cancer who wanted a playhouse is granted her wish after a fight with her neighborhood's homeowner's association

RAYMORE, Mo. -- A little girl with cancer now has her wish -- a playhouse. But it came with a fight.

The wish for the Kansas City, Mo. girl was finally granted after her neighborhood's homeowner's association relented on an initial ruling to prohibit the building.

Six-year-old Ella Schultz's wish was made as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The structure is now in Ella's backyard thanks to "a positive resolution" by that neighborhood organization. The homeowner's association changed its tune after extensive media coverage and an outpouring of community support.

Watching his Ella play, father Pete Schultz said the little yellow house is his daughter's escape: "She's sick all the time, this is her getaway right here," he said. "This is somewhere she can go in, she can control who goes in who goes out."

Boys, it's worth noting, aren't allowed.

Pete Schultz said, "She deserves this. Her happiness means more than anything to us. The fact that she's home and she's able to have this is a miracle in and of itself. You see stories like this all the time and it's not supposed to happen to you -- so just everybody, thank you."

Local builder J.E. Dunn helped construct the playhouse.

Ella has leukemia and is now in what's called "maintenance mode." She is responding well to treatment and can have friends over to enjoy the playhouse.