Rogers Students Grant Springdale Boy's Wish To Go To Hawaii

STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Gunnison Riggins, 10, center, watches balloons drop Tuesday with friends and family during a ceremony at the Rogers High School gym. With support from the school’s Distributive Education Clubs of America program, Gunnison’s family was given a trip to Hawaii with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Gunnison has been diagnosed with neuroblastoma.
STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Gunnison Riggins, 10, center, watches balloons drop Tuesday with friends and family during a ceremony at the Rogers High School gym. With support from the school’s Distributive Education Clubs of America program, Gunnison’s family was given a trip to Hawaii with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Gunnison has been diagnosed with neuroblastoma.

ROGERS -- Santa Claus arrived following a set of Hawaiian Christmas songs during the Make-A-Wish assembly at Rogers High School on Tuesday.

Students, however, made the big announcement: Gunnison Riggins, 10, is going to Hawaii.

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It dawned on him somewhere during the program his wish was about to come true, Gunnison said.

He looked happy when the high school coaches presented him with gifts from the team, said his grandmother, Carolyn Riggins. He lit up when he saw Santa.

"The look on his face was priceless," she said.

Gunnison has fought neuroblastoma for more than two years, said his mom, Kari Riggins.

Neuroblastoma affects developing nerve cells, and is typically found only in children 10 or younger, according to the American Cancer Society.

Gunnison said he picked a trip to Hawaii when asked to make his wish because he'd never been there. He wants to go zip lining and surfing.

Faith has been key in the battle with cancer, family members said.

"That's what we pray for every day, a miracle," said Carolyn Riggs.

When Gunnison first got sick, he didn't play, she said. On a recent walk to Lake Springdale, however, he took the lead. Those moments where he can play sports, run and smile are the daily miracles, she said.

The family will travel to the islands in mid-January, his mom said. Although Gunnison is still undergoing treatment, it's the first time he's been healthy enough to travel.

"We've had a long journey. We still had a battle ahead of us. We've been blessed in the journey," Kari Riggins said.

The thought put into the ceremony, and the full support of the the school's student body, was special to the Springdale family, she said.

"That means more to us than the trip," Kari Riggins said.

The support and love of the community matter, especially two years into an ongoing struggle, said Granger Riggins, Gunnison's older brother.

He told the audience Gunnison is one of the toughest kids he knows.

"We're gonna be able to forget about the world for a while. Forget about being sick," he said.

Students in the Distributive Education Club of American, or Deca club, at Rogers High School, starting at the beginning of the school year, planned the event and solicited donations. It's the first year they've held the event in the fall semester, said Tom Woodruff, club adviser. Woodruff said the annual event is a team effort with the choir, orchestra and sport teams involved.

The reveal makes the annual high school event different, said Gwen Moore, a Make-A-Wish volunteer.

"I think it's special because the students all get involved and then they get to meet the Wish kid," she said.

Make-A-Wish is a great project every year, said Riley McGill, a senior at Rogers High School and Deca president. When he met Gunnison and his family, the effort and plans of the past several months had a face, and that was rewarding, he said.

There are always families waiting for a wish to come true, said Scott Gage, volunteer. More volunteers are needed.

"It isn't just today. It happens over and over again," Gage said.

NW News on 12/17/2014

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