When most people beat cancer, it can be difficult regaining a sense of normalcy. Typically, they don’t take a trip to New Zealand. However, when eighth-grader Riley Hall received a Make-A-Wish trip, that’s what he knew would bring closure to his two-year journey with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes. On Dec. 4, he and his brother, junior Griffin Hall, and their family embarked on their 13-day adventure to the other side of the globe. Several years earlier, he had declined the offer of a free trip, but one night in July 2013 changed his mind.
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The cold dampness of the bed against his burning skin woke Riley up in the middle of the night. He peeled himself off the bed and checked the fan again, making sure it had not turned off while he was sleeping. Shaking himself awake, he glanced
at the sweat-soaked sheets. That was the third time this week.
It’s summer.
The room must be hot.
There’s no need to jump to conclusions.
But it seemed that his bedroom seemed to grow hotter more and more frequently. In the back of his mind, memories of similar night sweats taunted him. He refused to believe it, but when he went to the doctor, his worst fear was confirmed.
His cancer had returned.
“The first time I actually cried during that entire experience was when I got diagnosed again,” Riley said.
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The Hall family’s first encounter with cancer began when Riley was hospitalized during Thanksgiving of 2011 due to appendicitis. Doctors discovered the initial tumor on his neck in January of 2012 after he had experienced some blood complications with the appendicitis. Riley was officially diagnosed for the first time on Valentine’s Day in 2012. The cancer required Riley to frequently visit the hospital for intense treatment. Regular chemotherapy and radiation kept him out of the home for long periods of time. Test after test, treatment after treatment, all left his body littered with scars. His parents were always by his side during each treatment. This often left Griffin alone at the house, concerned for his younger brother.
“There would be times where I wouldn’t see Riley for a month and the thought of just being separated from him for that long really hit me hard because he’s my brother,” Griffin said. “I’m extremely close to him in every single way.”
Riley’s diagnosis changed every part of his life. As his hair started falling out and his treatments started taking a toll on him, his relationships with his peers began to change. His friends acted much more delicate around him, which was a bit out of character for a group of seventh grade boys. But when he made it home at the end of the day, he could always count on Griffin to be ready to roughhouse and wrestle to create a sense of normalcy.
“It was very helpful because I would go to school and everybody was like ‘Oh, that’s the kid who has cancer, we have to treat him differently,’ and I’d get home and my brother would already have his fist ready to hit me, all ready to take me down on the ground and just start messing with me,” Riley said. “It was really nice.”
But just because Griffin attempted to keep their relationship playful in the midst of their trial didn’t mean he was unaware of the circumstances.
While Riley had to spend an extended period of time at the hospital, Griffin and his parents stocked up on trinkets and toys to present to him each day of his stay. His room was filled with a Despicable Me minion, board games and even a Nerf gun that was eventually used to battle the hospital staff.
“I definitely must say that my brother and I did not get along very well before the cancer, but after the treatment and everything, we bonded a lot more to the point where we’ve realized that life gets shorter and we’re all we’ve got,” Griffin said.
The second diagnosis and round of treatments was a devastating time for Riley and his family. Enduring stage III Hodkins lymphoma again made Riley reconsider his denial of the Make-A-Wish opportunity. As he watched his family bond together during this trial, he thought it might be beneficial to heal from the trying experience.
“After the second go-round, Riley decided we need to get over this as a family,” Griffin said.
As the family considered what they wanted to do with the wish and where they wanted to go, they remembered the boys’ childhood friends – the Tataurangi family – who had moved to New Zealand seven years ago. With Riley going into remission a second time in July 2014, the family wanted to make an effort to return to a normal life. An opportunity to see the Tataurangi family again and explore the island country together would be an excellent opportunity to kickstart this new chapter of their lives.
“We were really good friends, so when they moved away, we were devastated,” Griffin said
Make-A-Wish is known to gift their recipients with special privileges and behind-the-scenes access that are not always available to the public. In addition to the opportunities from the Make-A-Wish foundation, the family was able to create unique memories because Phil Tataurangi, their family friend, was also a PGA golfer and New Zealand celebrity. The family quickly discovered that traveling with Tataurangi in New Zealand was much different than in Texas. Everywhere they went, he was recognized, and they were given five-star treatment. Combined with the special privileges from the Make-A-Wish foundation, the family’s 13-day trip was full of fun and adventure.
During their stay in Queenstown, Tataurangi took the two boys on a grocery run. Unbeknownst to Griffin and Riley, however, the grocery store was across the street from the airport. Instead of parking in front of the grocery store, they found themselves in front of the helicopter loading zone as Tataurangi turned to them.
“You’re going on a helicopter ride,” Tataurangi said. “I’ll get groceries later.”
The helicopter tour of Queenstown and many other memories like white water rafting down the Shotover River and paragliding off the Remarkable Mountains helped the family get back to the outdoor activities that they loved. They may have traveled halfway across the world to do it, but the trip seemed to bring their battle with Hodgkin’s to a close.
“Before we weren’t really that close and so now, we’re all much closer,” Griffin said. “It’s kind of the end of the journey.”
