Author: Kaylie Fullenwider

On Wednesday, February 7th we flew from Lousiville Kentucky to Las Vegas, NV to begin the trip of a lifetime. Aiden had made his wish known and it was being granted.

Prior to our departure, we began to gear up for our trip securing the last minute items. Aiden’s suit from Ralph Lauren arrived the Saturday before we were to leave and was too small for him. Clearly, there was a mix up in his suit measurements. The waist was around 6 inches too small and the length too long. (More about the mix up later). Along this journey people have come along us and taken care of us. Denise, is a seamtress and long time family friend. She came in and fixed the suit within 24 hours. She is AMAZING!

We arrived in Las Vegas by 10 am. This being way too early for check in we decided to check our luggage and explore the strip. We made our way to the monorail and went to The Venetian. We went to ride the gondolas. The kids and I rode and Casey filmed. Lynlee thought it was beautiful, Liam wondered by this person was sining to use and Aiden just smiled.

After getting the text it was time to check in we made our way back to the MGM Grand, took a nap and then woke up in time for Top Golf. This was our first chance to meet all the other families.

Before going any further into that night…making peace with your child being a Make-A-Wish kid is a process. We arrived at the hotel and many of our kids illnesses are internal, not visible from the outside. You compare your child with the others. Decide maybe your child is worst off than some. Some of the kids were older than Aiden and the unknown of the future we face sneaks in. I’m not going to lie I had a moment upon arrival of tears flowing making that peace of the real reason we are on this trip in the first place.

When we got to Top Golf we were introduced to the Make-A-Wish staff, other kiddos, families, etc. They gave the kiddos swag to start off the week. Then we learned that the Fullenwiders are not golfers. Haha! It was a fantastic start to the trip. We laughed A LOT and connected with families like ours.

When we returned from Top Golf a chocolate dessert tray and a box full of NFL gear was in our room. Aiden grinned ear to ear the entire night.

There are not many good things that have come from having cancer. The people we’ve met and connected with, the new perspective we have, the focus family time we do now are a few. When we started our journey at Cincinnati and were officially diagnosed with cancer, our social worker mentioned Make-A-Wish. Aiden immediately said no as he thought it was only for kids who were dying. Dying has never been an option for him. He’s a fighter.  Then, he felt that others deserved it more than him. We did radiation and chemo, and he felt too sick to Make-A-Wish.  It got put on the back burner. 

As the dust from radiation settled this fall. We returned to somewhat a normal routine. thr last side effects of radiation as well as depression and anxiety had their grip on Aiden. I reached back out to the Social Worker to start the process.

I had one goal: ARROWHEAD. We had gone to a Chiefs game prior and saw a group on the field. I wanted Aiden to be one of those on the field. Hesitantly, Aiden also agreed to start the Make-A -Wish process.

This process is a little lengthy, but SO worth it. We discussed with a volunteer via video call Aiden’s wishes. He got to make three wishes (2 experiences and 1 object). The volunteer (who just so happened to be a teacher AND mother to a Make A Wish kid) told Aiden to dream BIG and convince him he deserved a wish for what he had been through. With this, his wishes got bigger than Arrowhead. Aiden wished for 1) Go to the Super Bowl 2)Go to the Bahamas 3) Signed NFL Memorabilia.

We were immediately told that none of his wishes could be granted. For several reasons, one his diagnosis, they are not doing international wishes, etc. Then, not 24 hours later, our original Make A Wish contact told us to get all the paperwork, and they may be able to slide him into this year’s group.

Casey and I went into overdrive and got everything in. Sure enough, she got him into the Super Bowl, but we were instructed not to tell Aiden. We knew we were going to the Super Bowl Nov. 16th and had to stay tight-lipped until the official reveal box came from Fanatics in January.

To reveal the wish, we got a box from Fanatics. With perfect timing, the box came the same week as Aiden’s birthday. So the plan was put into place to reveal his wish at his birthday in front of all his friends and family.

There are no words to describe how that moment felt when he finally realized he was going to the Super Bowl.

People always assume there are two options when it comes to cancer. You either achieve remission or you die. Thankfully, modern medicine has increased the number of people achieving remission. What if I told you though there is a third option. An alternative that, up until I’ve lived it, I didn’t know it existed. That is what if you lived WITH Cancer.

See, cancer lives just down the hall from me. It is always there, always lurking, like a bomb about to go off at any moment. Cancer lives within my 12 year old’s brain. We are living everyday WITH Cancer.

I get asked all the time by people how my son is doing. On the outside, right now, he looks happy, healthy, almost normal. We are not currently on any cancer treatments. We are in a pause which, many assume, is remission, but it is not. 

By definition, remission is not being able to detect the cancer on a scan. Literally when they look at your tests, your scans, your body, there is no cancer.

We finished radiation in March 2023 and we’ve had three scans so far. His tumor is stable and not growing currently, but it is still there. Still visible on the scans, still glowing on the computer screen.

I can remember like it was yesterday, the day our doctor told me that our son would probably never achieve remission. He had student doctors in the room with him. We were about 3 weeks into radiation. He casually told them “the field is just too big, we will not be able to achieve remission”. Imagine the gut punch that was. So much so that I gave a little nervous giggle (like what did he just say). It didn’t help I was by myself too. How stupid of me to think I could go to the oncologist alone? I’ve learned better now that I need help along this journey. Now, no one goes to the oncologist alone. It was there it hit me, maybe there is a third alternative to cancer.

So, here we are living that third alternative. We are living each day with cancer in our lives. Which, by the way, they do not write a handbook on how to handle. It has changed the way we all live. There is not an area of life that it doesn’t or hasn’t affected.