Remembering a son, riding for a cure

Published Sept. 25, 2009
By Staff Sgt. James M. Hodgman
55th Wing Public Affairs

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- 108 degrees. 73 miles.

Glancing at the gauges on his bicycle, Tech. Sgt. John Ward felt a wave of desperation wash over him. He still had 27 miles to go and the temperature was steadily rising. He didn't know how much farther he would make it. He was exhausted and every push of his legs was becoming more difficult.

A member of the 55th Security Forces Squadron's Elite Guard, the sergeant was participating in the Roll to the River event, a 100-mile bicycle ride raising money for a local children's hospital.

But quitting wasn't an option. He wasn't just riding for himself, he was riding for Isaac.

"I said to myself if I didn't commit to doing this, if I wasn't doing this for Isaac, I wouldn't finish," Sergeant Ward said. "At that point, I had to finish ... even if I had to ride backwards, I was going to."

And Sergeant Ward knew that his 100-mile ordeal was nothing compared to the fight Isaac had faced. Sergeant Ward's enemy was exhaustion; Isaac's was a determined disease that threatened not only his young body, but his life.

Isaac Hall's fight began in September of 2005 when he was 5 years old. He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, a type of blood cancer that is the most common type of leukemia found in children under the age of 15.

The Hall family immediately sought medical attention for Isaac, and after 19 days of intravenous and intrathecal treatments and chemotherapy, Isaac went into remission. In October 2005, the Hall family was able to take Isaac home.

A little more than a year later, the cancer returned, and Isaac once again found himself battling for his life.

"When Isaac was first diagnosed with leukemia, there was always the possibility we could lose him," said Tech. Sgt. Travis Hall, Isaac's father. "That thought is always there in the back of your head, but you kind of push it out and hold on to hope."

Then, after researching leukemia and speaking to other families affected by the disease, Sergeant Hall learned relapses are quite common. With this knowledge, he hoped and prayed that the treatment his son received would rid him forever of this horrible disease.

Just before Christmas in 2006, the Hall family received some great news. Isaac was in remission again, his body completely free of leukemia cells.

The Halls took Isaac home again, hoping this was his final battle with leukemia.

Yet, through it all -- the hospital visits, the treatments and the poking and prodding -- Isaac remained the good-natured, fun-loving kid he always was.

"He was easy going and a clone of me," Sergeant Hall said. "He enjoyed practical jokes. When he was in the hospital, he would pinch nurses with a dinosaur claw. He also had a fart machine he'd use to startle nurses with."

Isaac remained free of leukemia until March of 2008 when he relapsed for the second time. Fortunately, Isaac's body responded well to treatment and in June he went into remission.

Then, that July, he received the first of two bone marrow transplants.

"During one of his bone marrow transplants, he chewed on buffalo wings the whole time," Sergeant Hall said. "We even blew up latex medical gloves and played volleyball."

But with the new year came unsettling news. The leukemia was back.

After Isaac's second bone marrow transplant, he developed complications. His liver stopped functioning properly, which led to kidney failure and other health problems. In November of 2008, he was admitted to an intensive care unit for a week.

Isaac bravely continued battling the disease that ravaged his body, but he was losing ground. Finally, on Dec. 30, doctors gave the Hall family some devastating news. They had done all they could and Isaac didn't have much time left.

So, the Hall family took 8-year-old Isaac home one last time. The next day, New Year's Eve, Isaac's long battle ended.

Nearly a year later, on a bicycle in Blair, Neb., Sergeant Ward's battle was also nearing an end. Overcoming exhaustion, a 15 mile-an-hour head wind and the heat, Sergeant Ward finished the 100-mile course in five hours and 40 minutes. But is wasn't the time the sergeant was concerned with. The numbers he cared about were $2,000: The amount of money raised for Isaac Hall Memorial Charities and donated to the local children's hospital.

A veteran of numerous athletic events and a friend and colleague of Sergeant Hall, Sergeant Ward chose to complete the bike ride to show his support for the Hall family and help spread the word about the charity that bears Isaac's name -- something Sergeant Hall is extremely grateful for.

"I'm all for anyone using Isaac's name for something worthwhile, and I was thrilled that Sergeant Ward did the 100-mile bike ride," Sergeant Hall said.

The grueling 100-mile ride presented many difficulties, Sergeant Ward said, but couldn't compare to the difficulties the Hall family have faced.

"I really didn't do anything compared to what Sergeant Hall's family went through," he said.

FEATURES