Jason Meyer
Flashes of Hope
Clockwise from far left: Duncan, Riley, Rourke, Jessica, Eden, Hannah
This story begins in 2007, when Eden Adams, daughter of Rourke Adams, and Hannah Lewis, daughter of Jessica Lewis, became friends. The two girls were undergoing treatment for different types of pediatric cancers and met in the hospital.
“(Jessica and I) didn’t have to explain what we were going through,” Rourke says. “We could kind of use each other to sound board, so to speak.”
Hannah, who had a soft tissue cancer, is now cancer free and will be a senior at New Albany High School this fall. Eden passed away in late 2008 at 8 years old from neuroblastoma, a cancer that attacks the nerves.
Eden’s happy personality, like how she threw pixie dust around the hospital, and bits of wisdom, like when she told Jessica to appreciate gifts fully, are well-remembered by Rourke and Jessica, who have been together for the past 11 years.
“She didn’t meet a stranger,” Rourke says of Eden. “She was very happy, very princess-oriented; pink and glitter were her way to go.”
“She was special,” Jessica says. “She was just little bits of wisdom all the time.”
The two families have become one, which also includes Rourke’s son, Riley, and Jessica’s son, Duncan. Today, the family is involved in multiple cancer-focused fundraising groups to not only raise awareness, but keep Eden’s memory alive.
Eden Adams
Local Love
About 10 years ago, Eden was the star of the first-ever fashion show by Nellie’s Champions For Kids (NC4K), an Ohio-based group that raises funds for childhood cancer and helps local families dealing with pediatric cancer.
According to the NC4K website, Eden inspired the organization to continue the fashion show annually and grow. Today, the group hosts several events and has raised more than $2.5 million.
To this day, the Adams-Lewis family is highly involved in NC4K, especially Hannah.
Throughout this summer, Hannah is interning with NC4K for her senior seminar class, a course at NAHS in which students are required to complete a self-improvement project of their choice.
“We’ve done so much with (NC4K) already that I wanted to do something different with them,” Hannah says. “This kind of put me on the other side of their company; being able to help families directly instead of just fundraising more or being on the receiving end. I think it will be really fun.”
The Adams-Lewis family at the Nellie's Champions for Kids Gala. From left: Riley, Jessica, Rourke, Hannah and Duncan.
Hannah says one of her primary tasks during the NC4K internship is event planning, something she loves.
“The most fun thing about fundraising is being able to plan events,” Hannah says. “A lot of what NC4K does is based around little kids or adults, but we’d like to have something more unique to teenagers. And since I’m a (teenager), I will be able to help with that.”
Hannah is also involved in Camp Quality of Ohio, an organization that provides a free camping experience to children with cancer. Later this summer, Hannah will be a staff member at the camp and looks forward to helping kids who are going through what she experienced.
“It’s very much an escape; it’s not like we sit around and talk about cancer,” Hannah says. “Watching the kids play and get through it, it’s amazing to be around, and it’s always really inspiring. … It makes me want to (fundraise and volunteer) even more.”
The campers partake in a prom dance, explore nature and take field trips to places including a local zoo.
Hannah says if Eden were still here today, she would probably be just as involved with these organizations.
“We were like sisters,” Hannah says. “Hopefully, we would have been raising even more money together.”
Hannah’s hard work won’t end when she graduates. She plans to stay in Ohio to attend college, and hopes to major in biomedical science for research or education. And, of course, she will continue her work in fundraising after high school.
Eden and Hannah
Biking for the Cure
After Eden passed away, her older brother, Riley, wanted to make a difference, so he signed up for the first-ever Pelotonia event in 2009.
“Riley just said, ‘Hey I want to do this, can you help me?’ and I was a previous cyclist, so it just kind of went hand-in-hand,” says Rourke. “(Donators) know why we’re riding, they know that we’re riding in memory of Eden and they know where our hearts are.”
Pelotonia isn’t the only cycling event in which the duo participates.
After lobbying for topics related to pediatric cancer in Washington D.C., the Adams-Lewis family was invited in July 2008 to witness President George W. Bush sign a bill specific to funding childhood cancer research and spread awareness.
Eric Draper White House Photo Office
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Hannah and Eden watching President George W. Bush sign a bill funding childhood cancer research and awareness.
“As we were getting in the car (to go to D.C.), Eden was like, ‘I’m not doing this for you, but if I can help one other child with cancer, that’s why I’m going,’” Rourke says. “And that’s coming from an 8-year-old at the time. By the time she had gone through the multiple relapses she was very unfiltered.”
Unfortunately, as the song goes, the bill is just sitting on Capitol Hill. The funds to kickstart the act never amounted, but Rourke and Jessica still support lobbies for the bill.
Even still, good came from the trip. While the family was exploring the city, they met members from Team Will, a national pediatric cancer fundraising organization.
“Before we had ever, ever thought about any of us being on bicycles, we met (Team Will) literally on the steps of the Capitol Building,” says Jessica. “A member signed (Hannah’s and Eden’s) shirts because they were still bald.”
Adams-Lewis family at the White House
Team Will’s biggest fundraiser is the Go the Distance event, a bicycle tour that travels from San Francisco to Margate City, New Jersey. Riley and Rourke have done the biennial event since 2012, and in June they rode the trail once again.
“We kind of leapfrog across the United States,” Rourke says.
The hardest part about participating in the two summer events: raising enough money. Rourke says it’s all about networking and informing contacts about the cause. Jessica adds that other small events are held to raise the money, like selling candy bars, 3-D printing and selling fidget spinners, and hosting wine tastings.
Jessica and Hannah don’t ride in the two cycling events, but they are always on the sidelines, cheering for Rourke and Riley.
“That’s a lot of training and athletic ability,” Hannah says, laughing.
Team Will, an organization that raises money for pediatric caner research, with Hannah and Eden on the steps at Capitol Building.
A Deeper Meaning
Apart from these organizations, every April the Adams-Lewis family host their event: a blood drive.
“The blood drive is in Eden’s birthday month – that is always a heavy month for me, and the (New Albany) elementary school is where we have it. That’s the school she went to,” Jessica says. “It is a way to honor her memory and help replace some of the blood supply we took while the girls were in treatment.”
Eden would have graduated this past May, so Jessica says it was nice seeing the senior students who were in her class. Jessica also notes the schools and community have been supportive.
“The schools have been amazing,” Jessica says about the district’s understanding of Hannah and Eden’s schedule during treatment. “The schools have always been there to support whatever we want to do. … And we wouldn’t be able to do the fundraising without (the community).”
Rourke says all these events – Pelotonia, Team Will, fundraisers for NC4K and the blood drive – have shaped the family’s life.
Kent Smith Photography
“These events are our holidays, they’re our celebration days, and they’re very therapeutic,” he says. “I mean, it’s a lot to deal with. So, to actually get to talk about what happened and also bring awareness to the situation, it helps.”
Next May, Hannah will graduate, and Rourke and Jessica say their current path with fundraising may change a bit.
“The things that we’re doing are the things that we love,” Rourke says. “So, we’re still going to have some sort of involvement and continuation; we just don’t know how it’s going to mature.”
A Different Outlook
The couple says they wish they could take away the experience Eden and Hannah went through, but they’re also appreciative of the wisdom they gained along the way.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, but I wouldn’t want to forget what I learned,” says Jessica. “I think the more you know as a person, the more you’re forced to grow from the situation. Because of that growth, we give, which actually makes us happier.”
Rourke adds their perspective on life has completely changed, but for the better.
“It kind of eliminates the superficial aspects of life,” he says. “And you realize what’s important.”
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Hannah and Eden in Washington D.C.
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Eden and Hannah with Deborah Pryce, the representative who helped get the pediatric bill signed by President George Bush.
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Riley, Eden and Hannah
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Hannah
Healing with Yoga
When the Adams-Lewis family isn’t off biking hundreds of miles for research or helping put together a fashion show for children with cancer, they turn to relaxing family vacations at the beach, mindful yoga and The New Albany Walking Classic, in which Rourke participates every year.
Jessica is also a yogi, having begun in 2009. She is an instructor at Body Wisdom Healing Group in Clintonville. Hannah also enjoys yoga, and Jessica says the activity has mental health benefits.
“(Yoga helps) manage the mental stress of the long-term side effects of having a child cancer survivor, and also in dealing with grief and loss after Eden,” Jessica says. “I like to help other people dealing with loss. … And yoga is how I healed from the many PTSD symptoms I had, common in parents of children with life-threatening illnesses.”
Visit the Just for Today Yoga Facebook page for more information.
Mark your calendar
Pelotonia
- Aug. 3-5, various locations and times
Nellie’s Fashion Show: A Night of Champions
- Sept. 22, Express Live!, 6:30 p.m.
September: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
Lydia Freudenberg is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com
