Photos: Azayliah "Zay" Perez
This past month saw Zay celebrate her 10th birthday, visit the Sweetwater Wetlands with her school and prepare for the final months of her first year of formal education.
Azayliah "Zay" Perez
Azayliah "Zay" Perez pauses to think before filling out a "passport" during her third-grade class field trip to the Sweetwater Wetlands, 2551 W. Sweetwater Dr., on Friday, Jan. 10, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Azayliah "Zay" Perez
Azayliah "Zay" Perez plays with best friend Tavia Cailing during lunch on a half-day at school on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, at Kellond Elementary School, 6606 E. Lehigh Dr., in Tucson, Ariz. Zay is approaching one year in remission from her last relapse of leukemia. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Azayliah "Zay" Perez
Teacher Elizabeth Egan, right, hands back completed work to Azayliah "Zay" Perez during a half-day on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, at Kellond Elementary School, 6606 E. Lehigh Dr., in Tucson, Ariz. Zay is approaching one year in remission from her last relapse of leukemia. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Azayliah "Zay" Perez
Azayliah "Zay" Perez forges ahead on her third-grade field trip to the Sweetwater Wetlands, 2551 W. Sweetwater Dr., on Friday, Jan. 10, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Azayliah "Zay" Perez
Azayliah "Zay" Perez holds up a pair of cheetah print jeans she got at her 10th birthday party on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, at Peter Piper Pizza, 5925 E. Broadway Blvd., in Tucson, Ariz. Each birthday is special for Zay, whose early years were spent battling two bouts of leukemia. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Azayliah "Zay" Perez
Azayliah "Zay" Perez, right, gets some extra academic help from school psychologist Nancy Lappitt on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, at Kellond Elementary School, 6606 E. Lehigh Dr., in Tucson, Ariz. Zay is approaching one year in remission from her last relapse of leukemia. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Zay birthday
Azayliah "Zay" Perez blows out the candles on her cake at her 10th birthday party on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, at Peter Piper Pizza, 5925 E. Broadway Blvd., in Tucson, Ariz. Each birthday is special for Zay, whose early years were spent battling two bouts of leukemia.
Azayliah "Zay" Perez
Azayliah "Zay" Perez, left, reads with best friend Tavia Cailing on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, at Kellond Elementary School, 6606 E. Lehigh Dr., in Tucson, Ariz. Zay has difficulty reading, so Tavia reads to her. Zay is approaching one year in remission from her last relapse of leukemia. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Azayliah "Zay" Perez
Azayliah "Zay" Perez, left, reads with best friend Tavia Cailing on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, at Kellond Elementary School, 6606 E. Lehigh Dr., in Tucson, Ariz. Zay has difficulty reading, so Tavia reads to her. Zay is approaching one year in remission from her last relapse of leukemia. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Zay's birthday
Azayliah "Zay" Perez, left, makes best friend Tavia Cailing laugh by pushing her nose up against glass at Zay's 10th birthday party on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, at Peter Piper Pizza, 5925 E. Broadway Blvd., in Tucson, Ariz.
Azayliah "Zay" Perez
Azayliah "Zay" Perez plays in the game room during her 10th birthday party on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, at Peter Piper Pizza, 5925 E. Broadway Blvd., in Tucson, Ariz. Each birthday is special for Zay, whose early years were spent battling two bouts of leukemia. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Azayliah Perez isn't having any trouble making friends during her first year in public school, but her academics are tougher than she expected…