Friends and Family Rally to Complete Dying Teen's Bucket List – Including a Pig, a Wedding Ring and a Zipline Ride

"Alyssa is exceptionally kind and loving, and she is adamant that out of everything, she just wants a miracle," her mom Tiffany Elkins tells PEOPLE

Photo: Courtesy Tiffany Elkins

Alyssa Elkins has spent the past two years fighting leukemia, and while her family hopes for a miracle, the McConnelsville, Ohio, teen has set her sights on making some of her dreams come true.

The 16-year-old was diagnosed first with Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) – a group of rare, bone marrow disorders – and then leukemia in March 2015, her mom Tiffany Elkins tells PEOPLE.

After undergoing a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital that year, Alyssa was in remission.

But earlier this month, Alyssa’s checkup appointment came with unimaginable news: the cancer was back. Unfortunately, a bone marrow transplant was no longer an option.

“They only found one match in the world last time, and the next best shot was Alyssa’s father,” Tiffany explains. “They suggested radiation, but it comes with a higher risk of relapse.”

Alyssa has opted not to pursue treatment – a decision her mother says she made entirely on her own.

“The first time, she didn’t want to do treatment either,” Tiffany explains of her daughter, noting that after insisting on chemo in 2015, they’re now respecting Alyssa’s wishes. “She now wants to let the Lord provide a miracle or live out her life doing the things she loves.”

Tiffany says doctors told her she has anywhere from 30 days to six months to live. And so, with the help of some generous volunteers, she’s doing just that.

Courtesy Tiffany Elkins

On Jan. 19 – the night the Elkins family learned Alyssa’s leukemia was back – she mourned with her eight siblings. After several emotional hours, one of of Alyssa’s sisters suggested they craft a bucket list of things she’d like to do.

Though initially intended to be private, extended family members shared the list on the Internet – and it took off.

List items that Alyssa has completed already? A mini pig (she’s now the proud owner), a tour of a mansion (she visited the Ohio Governor’s Mansion in Bexley on Monday) and a spa day. A local pilot helped Alyssa send a message in a bottle, throwing the teen’s note in the ocean as he flew overhead.

Alyssa also hopes to visit a diamond mine in Arkansas, have a wedding ring made and travel to New York City to see a Broadway show, as, her mom notes, she loves singing.

A trip to Cedar Point may not be possible, as the amusement park is closed during the winter, but the Elkins family is headed to Disney World, thanks to Make-A-Wish. She’ll also go ziplining, which is being organized by a local park that has agreed to open early in the season for Alyssa.

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“All she wants is to do everything as a family,” Tiffany says, noting that Alyssa’s love for her siblings and parents is part of the reason she didn’t want to return to the hospital. “She didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want to be away from her family for months.”

Of the kindness and generosity shown to Alyssa, Tiffany tells PEOPLE, “We’ve been so very blessed.”

“Alyssa is exceptionally kind and loving, and she is adamant that out of everything, she just wants a miracle,” she says.

The Elkins family is raising money to help Alyssa complete more of the wishes on her bucket list with a GoFundMe page, here.

They also ask those around the country and world to honor Alyssa through a “day of repentance, fasting and prayer” on March 5. For more information, visit the family’s website.