This year’s Rose Parade Kaiser float features a playful and entertaining theme. It consists of children, all courageous fighters against life-threatening diseases, riding giant animals on a county fair-like carousel decked with wholesome fruits and vegetables. The eight children -- all Kaiser Permanente patients with significant illnesses such as cancer, sickle cell, asthma, and diabetes -- each have “magnificent tales of health.” One of these lucky riders is Seal Beach’s 17 year old Haley Ishimatsu.

Not only does Ishimatsu have an inspirational story of overcoming health obstacles, she also is a member of the U.S. Olympic team. Kaiser provided this backgrounder on Ishimatsu in a statement:

“It is incredible for any person to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. It is doubly incredible when that person suffers from asthma, a chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways and for which there is no cure. Yet Haley, now 17, competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics diving competitions, one of the few (perhaps only) U.S. Olympians in Beijing with asthma.

Despite this adversity, Haley and her partner placed 5th in the women’s synchronized 10-meter platform event. To reach the Olympics, Haley made great sacrifices, which included moving to Indianapolis, Indiana, in order to practice year-round at the national diving training facility there (her father also quit his job in Los Angeles to live with her in Indiana). Now back in Seal Beach, Haley continues to compete, attends high school online, and is a straight A student. The voracious reader likes listening to music and collecting rocks as hobbies. She is interested in becoming a physician. Her mother, Dr. Carol Ishimatsu, practices at Kaiser Permanente’s Downey Medical Center.”

According to Kaiser, “the images and the riders aim to inspire viewers to get a 2010 healthier lifestyle ticket, requiring strength and commitment, and to jump on board a ride to better total health. The message is vividly brought to life by builder Fiesta Parade Floats and by float designer Raul R. Rodriguez,
who has won more awards than any other designer in the history of the Rose Parade.”

Although this will be her first appearance in the New Years Day spectacle, according to published news reports, Ishimatsu is not new to the Rose Parade. In previous years, she helped glue flowers on the floats. As a fourth generation Japanese American, she was born in Bellflower and, according to Wikipedia, “Ishimatsu signed a letter of intent to compete collegiality at Duke University beginning in the 2010 season.”

She has been a member of the U.S. Diving team since 2006 and has meddled in many national and international events. According to Wikipedia, “Ishimatsu plans to continue diving in preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. ‘Now I know what the experience is like, some of the surprises,’ Ishimatsu told the Associated Press. ‘I'll be able to deal with it better.’”

According to Kaiser, “As the magical float travels down the parade route, children will smile and wave beneath huge colorful umbrellas while each of the six ornate and oversized animals they are riding -- a cat, rabbit, turkey, swan, goat, and pig -- rock back-and-forth to fun music. Cart wheels beneath the figures will rotate, and an elaborate cornucopia of fruits and vegetables will glisten at the back of the float, where the two remaining young riders will be situated.

An on-board sound system will enhance the visual effects. A sophisticated hydraulic system will animate the carousel figures, each 1,000 pounds, 3-times life size, and supported on a vertical moving shaft. The float is 55 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 28 feet high. A total of 27,000 roses will adorn this beautiful float.