“In July 2021, our son Hudson (who was 9 years old at the time) was diagnosed with high-risk (stage 4) neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma is a pediatric cancer that develops in the nerve tissue. Hudson had a tumor on his spine and the cancer had spread throughout his body. Hudson was very sick when he was diagnosed. He underwent 5 rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, 2 back to back stem cell transplants with high-dose chemotherapy, radiation & 5 rounds of immunotherapy. Hudson was treated at Stead Family Children's hospital in Iowa City, University of Wisconsin-Madison & the Mayo Clinic. We spent 18 months in and out of the hospital with Hudson, our longest stay being 31 days over which fell on Christmas & New Years that year. We've always known Make-A-Wish as an amazing organization, but never ever thought we'd be in a situation where we need their services. When our Social Worker said that Hudson's cancer diagnosis qualified him for Make-A-Wish, it brought us HOPE. At this time, we were in the very beginning stages of his treatment plan and we're scared, anxious, nervous and unsure what the future would hold. During Hudson's treatment, it was fun distraction to brainstorm and dream with him about what his wish would be! Hudson's wish was to take a family vacation to Hawaii. Hudson loves to be active and try new things and he wanted to go surfing in Hawaii and Make-A-Wish helped make that happen! We planned and looked forward to this trip for months! We researched and made a list of all the fun things to do in Hawaii and we crossed every one of those items off our list while we were there. Our favorite part of the wish was watching Hudson's surfing dream come true! He spent 2 hours with a surf instructor and surfed in the ocean. A true magical moment for our family after watching Hudson go through such brutal cancer treatments two years ago. While in Honolulu, we also hiked Diamondhead, went to a Luau, went parasailing, went to the North Shore, ate at so many great restaurants and enjoyed time at the beach!
Hudson's mom
