TOLEDO, Ohio — For some children battling illness, a Make-A-Wish moment often brings dreams of far-off vacations or meeting a celebrity.
But 16-year-old Addie Oberhouse wanted her wish to go beyond her.
“I had two tumors, and then I started chemo two weeks after that,” Addie said about her battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
Addie’s journey began near the end of her sophomore year when she noticed a lump on her neck.
“We kind of all were just joking about it, like, oh yeah, I have this big thing on my neck that just, I thought it happened overnight,” she said.
The lump turned out to be more serious than she anticipated. A doctor’s visit led to blood work and CT scans, revealing her diagnosis.
“It happened pretty quickly, but then also just from like the standpoint of being 16, I never thought it would be cancer. Like that’s not something that even crossed my mind,” she said.
That summer was anything but typical for Addie. While her friends enjoyed the break, she was undergoing chemotherapy.
“Everybody else was out in the sun, and I sat underneath our umbrella, and that’s about the only time that I got to go outside really,” she said.
During her first chemo appointment, Addie learned about Make-A-Wish.
“Then throughout the summer, I was realizing just how alone I guess I felt because I didn’t know anybody that was my age that was also feeling the way that I was, just because all my friends, you know, they were all able to do what they normally do in the summer and I wasn’t,” she said.
Her experience inspired her wish: Teens Against Cancer—a day for teens facing cancer to connect with others who truly understood their journey.
The event, held at the Victory Center in Toledo, included care bags, massages, a wig station, and a chance to simply hang out with peers who shared similar experiences.
Make-A-Wish granted her wish, and it helped teens like her feel less alone.
Now in remission, Addie is preparing to graduate from high school this year. Her journey has inspired her to consider a future in nonprofit work, ideally for a cancer organization.
“There’s a lot of good causes, but just for kids who didn’t have a choice but had to fight for their lives, giving them something, just to have that experience, it’s really valuable,” she said.
Make-A-Wish not only granted Addie’s wish but also fueled her desire to give back to others in meaningful ways.
How you can help
Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana and the Home Builders Association’s Charitable and Education Foundation have partnered with News 5 for the fifth year in the Home for the Holidays raffle. Proceeds from this special project will benefit both nonprofit associations.
This year's home is in Highland Heights.
RELATED: Watch News 5 on Wednesday afternoon for the 'A Home for the Holidays' phone bank
You can purchase a ticket here.
The drawing is scheduled for Dec. 31.
