Delivered Nik Wishes

Trip to Disney

I am Jimmy's hospital/oncology Social Worker. He has Down Syndrome, and was 21 when he was diagnosed with ALL. He and his family would be very appreciative of a wish trip; his brother was killed in a car accident earlier this year, and it has been a very difficult time for Jimmy and the rest of his family. Jimmy lives with his mother and his stepfather, Cassandra and Brian Foster. He is a big Alabama football fan, and always has a smile on his face. We would love to see him get to go somewhere fun!
Jimmy's Mom shared with us: Jimmy cried when we first got here. We guess he was happy. Tears of Joy

A Wedding Venue

I was enrolled in my first year of college in California for Business Accounting for my major. I was interested in getting my degree there and come back to Rockford, IL to work and live. While in CA, my sister and I got to be involved in our school athletics during the week and going to the beach with friends on the weekend. I love to go to new places and discover cool spots in Los Angeles or small beaches. My sister and I would spend our time watching movies with friends and getting coffee at new places and cities. I would often call home and get excited to come home on breaks. I was involved in serving at my church there and met weekly at my small groups leader's house for a bible study and fellowship. My time was mostly spent working at Starbucks and studying/ doing school work. If I had spare time, I loved to read books and water color paint in coffee shops in between studying.
My life after being diagnosed has been a lot of the at the hospital, which brings hard memories as many of my trips were challenging physically and emotionally. I have the most amazing support system in my family and my church. God has provided over and beyond what we needed in support from our church. Many families have sent meals and gifts cards fo gas, as I go to Madison for treatments. I live at home right now and am enrolled at the local community college to keep busy and slowly work towards getting my degree. During my third month of treatment, I got to travel to Washington to visit family on our vacation and see my sister get married out west. I have been serving in my church as a Junior High 8th grade girl leader, where I lead a small group when my health allows. My life is very busy and yet not, with treatment continuing and almost done, I am ready to take on more capacity at my church, work and school. God provided me with a very flexible accounting internship for me to work and make money while I am in treatment. I am undecided still about where, but I want to go on a trip with my family to Europe.

I could not have survived treatment without the support of my boyfriend and my family so I would love to experience something great with them and we all love to hike mountain trails and travel to new places.

Ocean City Vacation

Carly had a bump on her head and a CT scan and MRI were performed, and the original large tumor (atypical meningioma)had been growing rapidly. It was brought before us to just give Carly Quality of Life and make her comfortable. She is doing well, stable, monitored by neuro oncology, and I am now at home with her monitoring her every day. We have also just started fostering kittens. I'm thankful for the time we have together-it's something I've always wished for! I pray everyday that this just stops growing and we can return to another new normal. Our requested need would be a family vacation some place VERY warm. Carly LOVES to swim, and thankfully is still able to do so! She loves cats, social media, movies, eating breakfast out, coffee, and summer. Carly is 22.

The power of LOVE!

Today's wish story is one that reminds us of how LOVE can work miracles. Earlier this year, Nik's Wish was contacted by Riley's Children's Hospital to help Andrew fighting Ewing Sarcoma with a wish.
Andrew wrote us;
I was a collegiate soccer player for Taylor University. During my senior year, I was experiencing knee pain. After scans, tests, and biopsies it was confirmed to be cancer. I started treatment immediately. I had gotten married, and started a life with my wife and two dogs in Indianapolis. My wife and I just came out of a super stressful holiday season spent in the hospital, and we would love some time to relax together before we jump into a new treatment. We arranged a Key West vacation, but then COVID hit.

The trip was cancelled, but CANCER CONTINUED. I reached out to him to see if maybe there would be a non travel wish that we could do for him to keep him smiling. He requested a deck be put in so that he could sit outside and feel the sun. Building projects are not typical for us, but neither is a global pandemic. The Nik's Wish board approved the wish request.

Home Depot graciously discounted the materials and we paid a contractor $1000 to start work. The job was to be finished in a week. We were off to a great start!

Then things took a turn. After delivering the materials the contractor made no progress and abandoned the job. I received a call from Andrew's wife and was expecting to get an update on the deck, instead with tears in her voice, she explained that she would not be able to take a wish picture wearing wish shirts as Andrew passed away. My heart sank. Andrew's grieving widow with a bunch of materials in her yard, no wish, no Andrew and just broken. I wanted to get this completed, but how? The previous contractor did not return the money. Would I try with someone else to be taken again? Who could I trust to help this family in need?

There is a network of Nik's Wish families... families that know all to well about this terrible disease.. that continue to support other Nik's Wish families in so many ways. Today I would ask for the help from Presley's mom who lives in Indy. We were able to arrange a virtual wish for Presley to face time with her favorite star, Taylor Kinney, from Chicago Fire before cancer took her life. Ashley jumped in immediately to help.

Ashley connected me with Bob. Bob had met Ashley when he was working on a project next door to them. Bob had a day when 70 things went wrong all at once. Ashley started talking to him and shared Presley's story. Bob returned to his truck and hung his head and asked for God's forgiveness -- his problems were nothing compared to what Ashley's family was going through.
Ashley reached out to Bob to ask if he could help us complete the deck (actually start the deck). Bob did not hesitate... he was there the next day to assess the situation. He worked into the night, during the rain and he refused to take 1 dime for the work. Thank you, Bob, from Hoel Roofing & Remodeling and Ashley for helping us deliver this very special wish.

Andrew's wife shared with us: Andrew had wanted this for a while, so even if he did not get to see it completed, it will be a great place to continue to honor him and celebrate his life for years to come. Thank you so much.

Trip to Kure Beach, NC for 19th birthday with friends and family

Molly received her diagnosis THE DAY she was supposed to be moving into the dorms her freshman year The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Her wish to have family and friends visit her on the beach in NC.
From Molly, "I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for one of the best weeks of my life!!! I haven't smiled like that in a LONG time!!!"

Molly's thank you video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LjjX_VU_dQ&feature=youtu.be

COVID-19 Virtual wish to meet Omarion

What we thought was a toothache turned out to be a tumor in my left jaw. After staying in and out of the hospital for a little over a year, 14 rounds of chemo and two surgeries, I was pronounced cancer-free. I was rediagnosed with a tumor in the middle of my spine and left arm. I am now undergoing 25 rounds of radiation in my arm and 25 rounds in my spine. Once my radiation is completed, I will be starting chemo once again to assist the radiation to kill the cancer. My mom is my caregiver and she's always making sure I'm being taken care of. I would love to do something for her and my sister as well as myself so we can have live one day without the worries of my cancer returning.

Gaming Computer

I just graduated high school and was about to start college. I found a lump on my ankle that kept growing. I have to have inpatient chemo every two weeks for 9 months and have to have an amputation. I would like a gaming computer to provide a distraction from chemo/cancer and my worries.

I'm so grateful for you guys. Like seriously thank you this means the world to me!

Disney Wish

Diana’s thank you video:
https://youtu.be/WjHRv6GXdyc

I was diagnosed with Leukemia (ALL). My family, fiancé, my two and half-year-old son at the time and I were absolutely shocked and devastated. My son is now turning four years old which means for almost 2 years of his young life I have not been fully capable of enjoying events and activities a healthy mother does with her son. As a mother, not being able to take my son to public areas such as the aquarium, zoo, sporting events or even the mall is a terrible feeling. Cancer has taken time and memories away from family and loved ones that I will never get back. After all my family has been through, I believe a respite will give my fiancé, son and myself a sense of joy and a feeling that for once in two years, we are a happy normal family. Cancer has not only affected me, but it has affected my fiancé and son as well. Seeing them happy is all I could ask for and I hope this short story will get us a well-earned wish that I've been dreaming about. Thank you

Hawaii

Tatyana was enrolled as a fulltime college student at UAB majoring in Education. She has a lot of close friends that she talks about often. She is also in a 9 month relationship with a young man that she refers to as "the love of her life" Providing support to this family is very critical at this time. Tatyana is really focused on making as many memories as possible to leave with her family.

Hawaii

Before my tumor, I seemed to be a fairly typical kid of my age. I played all kinds of sports, hung out with friends all the time, and just seemed normal. I had beat the germ cell tumor but by early the next year we found out it had come back. I was so lucky to have 5 years without treatment but then on my 5 year scan, the tumor was back. This time treatment was really hard and was not very smooth. We attempted the tandem stem cell recovery again but the second one I was catching a virus and my body rejected my own cells and I went into a coma. It was so hard on my family because they did not know whether I would wake up but eventually I did. Now in January 2020, my tumor is back again. It has been very hard to always hear that it is back and that this time there is no conventional treatment, but we still have hope. Mostly I want to spend time with my family, they are my best friends enjoy the beach and soak up the sun.

Disney

I was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma the day after my 19th birthday. Not having much relationship with my family I felt alone and scared. In the process of treatment I was brought to God. I had support from a wonderful family, the Groenwald's, whom offered me a home when I can no longer afford to live on my own. It was rough but they stuck through me. I was having a recurrence of my Lymphoma requiring the most intense treatment of this journey. The Groenwald's stuck with me through my bi-weekly hospital admissions. This trip has allowed us to have a break from cancer. I've never been on a plane or vacation in my life and it was unlike anything I've ever experienced. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to get away and spend a week with the people I love most. In two weeks I'll be starting the process of receiving a bone marrow transplant. I've been scared and stressed about this process but after having this trip, I'm ready. Thank you to everyone who made it possible for my family and I to have this enlightening experience!--

S. Carolina Adventure

I tested positive for the Epstein Barr virus, which turns into lymphoma because my immunosuppressants made it impossible to fight this virus. This PTLD happens in 1 % of renal transplants. My treatment consists of R-CHOP for 6 treatments. My dad is a farmer and my mom works with intellectually disabled adults. They do not make a lot of money, but do have insurance
We were able to take a trip to Hilton Head South Carolina for a few days. It was so good to get away and take a break from all that was happening at home. I didn't have to think about anything that happened in the last year. We did something everyday that was so fun and enjoyable. This gave us the opportunity to explore Hilton Head and South Carolina. I have never been on the east coast before so getting to experience that with my family was the best. I loved the weather and all of the activities that we were able to do. I am so grateful for the Nikolas Ritschel Foundation and what they did for my family. They went above and beyond for us.--

Skydiving in Hawaii

After a year of battling cancer and losing my mom to the same illness only weeks after I was diagnosed, myself and my family were drained on all fronts. We'd forgotten what life was like before and without cancer. This trip to Hawaii gave us the chance to reconnect with ourselves and each other, to remember what it feels like to live without illness, and to realize that despite the trauma cancer had caused, we owe so much to the experience because a great deal was gained from this battle. We learned how strong we really are and how fragile life can be which is why it is so important to live every day to the fullest. That's why we wished to have the adventure of a lifetime in Hawaii. Moreover, that's why I wished to skydive in one of the most beautiful places on earth because as my skydiving instructor perfectly said, it was my final "screw you, I won" to cancer.

Golfing in Hawaii

Max was having muscle soreness and breathing issues. The symptoms worsened and he was diagnosed. He had to take a medical leave from the Univ. of Central Florida, where he was studying to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. Max loves golf. Due to treatment, he had to miss going to the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament. Even though Max has been strong and upbeat during this whole process, we could see that he was upset that he was going to have to miss out . We currently live in Orlando, FL, but Max was born in Rockford, IL. His mom and I were raised down the road in Rochelle, IL. (Max's dad)

Cali Wish

Before I was diagnosed with cancer, a typical week for me included attending school, being highly involved with school activities: cheerleading, softball, clubs including officer positions and 4H. I have not been able to participate in life like my peers. Because of my illness, my parents missed a lot of work. They've made sacrifices to support and care for me. While I still have a ways to go, I am making good strides at getting better. A family vacation would be healing for my family.

Disney Wish

After a month of unsolved "illness" changed my life forever when a CT scan revealed I had a mass in my brain. With my diagnosis my life was turned upside down. My mom is truly the hero. This would not only make my dream of going to Walt Disney World come true but give me an opportunity to thank my mom in a way I never could on my own.
This past year has been more than difficult. Nik's Wish entered my life at a time I could no longer find that great joy. Nik's Wish gave me something to look forward to on my most challenging days. Some people look for the light at the tunnel but because of the wonderful Nik's Wish community I've been looking for the castle at the end of Main Street.

Nik's Wish is full of beautiful angels that my family and I are beyond grateful for. Thank you for all that you've done to bring light into my life. This foundation is unbelievable. I will never forget this experience and always hold it so close to my heart. Thank you will never be enough.

Disney Wish

Kimberlee just graduated from Rutgers with a degree in Social Work, and is scheduled to begin working for child care services-- and now there is no telling when that will begin. For the last year and 1/2 she has undergone treatment, including a stem cell transplant. In between all this she just lost her father who was also going through Multiple Myeloma. I would love to see her dream of seeing Disney at Christmas come true. (Kimberlee's mom)

We had a wonderful trip in Disney last week, thanks to the Nikolas Ritschel Foundation!

It was a truly amazing week that breathed some new life into all of us. I'm so grateful that I got to share it with my mom, Aunt Kathy, and Tina. A huge thank you to my wish coordinator Denise for organizing and putting together a perfect trip.

Hiking in Hawaii

I was in my last month of my freshmen year at college when I finally saw a doctor for the pain and swelling in my left shoulder. I found out that I had osteosarcoma. I have always loved exploring and being outside and connecting with nature, and my cancer has, for a long time, deprived me of the opportunity to do so. My parents, who have obviously been through all the hardships of treatment along with me, could really use a relaxing vacation somewhere warm...