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2023 National Youth Ambassadors

Our Youth ambassadors are a shining force of resiliency and positivity in our community. With the courage to have overcome childhood cancer, these two children invite us all to embrace Hope for brighter days ahead!

Raynie Clark

NEVADA

Hello! My name is Raynie Clark. My friends and family call me Rainbow. I am 11 years old and live in a town outside Las Vegas, Nevada. I just started my two-year term as the National Youth Ambassador for Hyundai Hope On Wheels.

When I was six years old, my mother took me to the doctor because my energy was low, and she thought I had strep throat. Soon after, my vitals crashed and I was air-lifted to a children’s hospital. That’s where I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

I was in treatment for two-and-a-half years. At the time, my biggest worry was if Santa came to hospital rooms, where would he put a tree? I got a break during treatment one year and spent Christmas at home. My community and Santa came to my house and sang songs to me through our front window. This was one of the bright days during many dark days.

That’s when I told myself that it takes both rain AND sunshine to make rainbow. Thanks to the help of my family, friends, doctors, nurses and some cute pups at pet therapy, I started seeing rainbows of hope everywhere. The brightest rainbow came in April 2021 when my treatment ended—and I was cancer free.

While going through treatments, I would dance the days away when my body felt up to it. When I grow up, I want to be a dancer like my three older sisters. I love life and want others to be happy and love it too! I am so proud to be a National Youth Ambassador for Hyundai Hope on Wheels so I can share my story with other kids fighting cancer. I want you to know that you can handle hard things.

Always smile and be sure to see the rainbows.

Oliver Foster

ILLINOIS

My name is Oliver, I’m 11 years old and from Bloomington, Illinois.

When I was just five years old, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Before we knew what was wrong, I remember feeling so tired that I couldn’t even ride my bike down the street. My family also noticed I looked very pale, so they took me to the doctor. The doctor sent me to the St. Jude clinic in Peoria, Illinois, where they told us that I had cancer. Even though I didn’t really know what that meant, I remember feeling really scared. It was hard to get poked by needles over and over again.

The very next day, I started chemo and had to stay at the hospital for two weeks. Those two weeks felt like two years. After that, we started traveling back and forth to the clinic a few times a week. At some point, I had an allergic reaction to a chemo treatment that made it hard for me to breathe. So then I had to start getting two shots in my legs three times a week, and it burned really bad.

Over the course of my treatment, I had numerous chemo infusions and hospital stays, and 28 spinal taps. There were a lot of scary moments, but I also had some great memories during treatment. One of my favorites is celebrating my birthday at the clinic with a huge LEGO cake and edible LEGOS! After 3 ½ years, I finished treatment on June 14, 2020.

Something important I always remembered during treatment was that you can be scared and still be brave. You can be frightened, and do it anyway. You can find joy even when you have to do hard things.

I’m thankful for my family and friends, doctors and nurses for giving me hope and helping me fight cancer. My wish is that my story brings hope to other kids with cancer.

Show your support by helping us end childhood cancer.

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