MAKE-A-WISH HELPS VALENCIA GIRL TELL STORY DOCUMENTARY ABOUT STRUGGLES DEBUTS AT GROVE.

Byline: Sue Doyle Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The 13-year-old heard the crowd chanting her name outside her limousine as, one by one, her mother, brother and twin sister stepped onto the red carpet for her movie premiere.

``Riley, Riley, Riley,'' the people called, as TV news crews buzzed about. This was no ordinary Hollywood starlet who had drawn such a gathering. Yet in her own way, Riley Weinstein, who has survived nearly 20 brain surgeries, five strokes and paralysis, has outperformed them all.

And now, it's her turn to shine.

The pint-size teen took center stage this week at The Grove in Los Angeles where ``Riley,'' a documentary about her life, first hit the screen at the outdoor shopping center's movie theater. The movie was made through her request to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles.

Riley emerged last from the limousine that day, dressed all in purple, her favorite color, and stood below the theater's marquee, where her name gleamed in big letters. To show their support, family and friends all sported purple outfits. The crowd continued to call her name.

``I was so excited. I gave them a wave,'' she said. ``Then someone asked for my autograph.''

The night was a celebration of the young woman who has struggled with cavernous angioma of the brain and its effects since she was 2. The condition is a malformation of blood vessels, which appeared in three bloblike masses in her brain stem.

It all started after the child complained one night of a headache and pointed to the back of her head to show where the pain was coming from, said her mother, Teri Weinstein, 39.

Doctors at first said she had the flu. But over time, the once active child became lethargic. Later, she couldn't even sit up. Then she fell into a coma.

Her mother brought her back to the hospital and demanded more answers. Doctors did a brain scan.

The results changed the family forever.

Three masses were found in the middle of the young girl's brain stem. The nature of her condition was somewhat similar to an aneurysm, in which dilated blood vessels can rupture and cause an instant death. Other risks include paralysis and mental dysfunction.

The same type of congenital condition had brought on a seizure in 1998 that killed Olympic track star Florence Griffith Joyner while she slept.

Pregnant then with her son, Max, Teri Weinstein said her life flashed before her eyes. She had beaten cancer twice, surviving 16 surgeries in all. At 19, she went through radiation and never thought she'd be able to have children. After giving birth to three, she thought the tough times were behind her. But here they were again.

``They said, 'Mrs. Weinstein, we're sorry to tell you that she has three brain tumors in the dead center of her brain stem. Prepare to say goodbye,''' Teri Weinstein said.

But Riley survived the 14-hour surgery at UCLA Medical Center.

She returned home unable to speak and crawl, unable to walk and play. She was completely limp and lifeless, said her mother, who had to prop up her daughter's head because she was so weak from surgery.

When Riley did speak again, she told her mother that she was going to walk before her newborn brother did. And that she would keep up with her twin, Taylor.

It took about two more years before she took those steps, practicing with a rope tied between two objects in the house.

But between that time and for many years following, the Valencia girl has needed more surgeries, stemming from complications with the first operation, that severed some nerve endings in her brain stem, leaving sections of her face paralyzed.

As a result, she can't blink and has no facial animation. She lost movement in the muscles of her right eye and can only use one side of her mouth to speak.

However, the young girl, eager to keep up with her peers, learned to modify every behavior that most do subconsciously.

She rolls her eyes to moisten them instead of blinking. She moves her tongue differently in her mouth to articulate in crystal-clear speech. She has some trouble walking occasionally, but doesn't let it slow her down.

It was a few years ago when Make-A-Wish Foundation first approached Riley. The youngster first asked to meet Hanson, the musical group of three brothers from Oklahoma. But that didn't happen. So she made another wish. This time it was for an agent, so she could pursue some acting.

That didn't happen either.

On her third try, she asked to have her story told, so that others with the same condition, or with special needs, can learn about survival.

That wish was granted through the foundation, which contacted L.A. Film Lab Entertainment for assistance.

For nearly a year, the crew showed up on Sunday mornings at the Weinstein home, often making breakfast for the family first and interviewing later.

Next year, the film company will take ``Riley'' to film festivals. It hopes that a cable channel will pick it up, so others can learn about the girl's plight, said Corey Blake, a director on the documentary.

Now 13, Riley has her eyes on the future. The Sierra Vista Junior High School student wants to work with special-needs children after graduating from college. Maybe she'll be a doctor, she says.

Meanwhile, she wants to have some fun, and she's finding it through therapeutic horseback riding and dance class. She's exploring writing and is fine-tuning a comedy.

And she did get to meet Hanson after all. Two times in fact, after attending their concerts. She wears a picture of them in a locket around her neck. When she thinks about it, she touches the heart-shape photo and giggles.

Sister Taylor Weinstein has also seen life take on a certain groove now that her twin's medical problems have simmered down. The surgeries changed her life as well, from family life to school, where she finds herself protecting her sister from classmates who don't understand what it's like to have a special-needs sibling.

``It's hard having someone close to you go through that because when they come back, they change,'' she said. ``I think it's good to let others know that inside they are still the same person.''

Sue Doyle, [phone]

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Riley Weinstein, 13, steps out of a limousine on Tuesday at The Grove in Los Angeles.

(2) Jerry Ferris of ``The Bachelorette'' interviews Riley Weinstein before the premiere of ``Riley.''

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer