Sports Star Takes Terminally-Ill Girl to School Formal
UPDATE: Sadly after a long battle with Ewing Sarcoma, Hannah Rye has passed away.
NRL star Trent Hodkinson has made a dream come true for 15-year-old terminally-ill girl Hannah Rye, surprising her at her school formal.
The 15-year-old met Trent in 2016 after he dedicated his kicks to her as part of the ‘Tren7’s Kick for Kids’ initiative.
INSTAGRAM: @trent_hodkinson I had the honour to dedicate my round 3 #tren7skickforkids To Hannah who loves the Knights and was able to meet her and her family after the game. A huge thank you to @adidasau @iscsport @petresortsau and Domayne Kotara for Hannah's goody bag.
Hannah was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare type of cancerous tumour that grows in and around the bones after doctors found tumours around her spine when she was just 13-years-old.
It has a high rate of being cured, but a rigorous bout of chemotherapy has not been able to cure Hannah. She spent five months in remission before her cancer returned in May, and doctors now hold little hope she will see out the rest of the year.
With Hannah’s health deteriorating, her classmates decided that their school formal would be brought forward several months so that Hannah could attend.
Seeing the admiration that Hannah had for Trent, her mum Rachael secretly worked out a plan with him to escort her to the school formal.
Here are some of the beautiful pictures from the night:
Hannah’s father, Lance, was overjoyed at how the night went.
“He’s just a wonderful guy and we couldn’t have asked for anything more,” he said. "I was just over the moon, she looked so beautiful.”
Hannah told the Seven Network that it was a night she will never forget.
“It was one of the most magical nights I’ve ever had, it was incredible — I loved every second of it.”
And Hodkinson said he enjoyed every moment.
“She was so brave and she’s such a strong girl, you wouldn’t know she was going through this."
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