West Hawaii’s clear blue waters this week offered up big fun, smiles and fish for two keiki visiting Hawaii Island through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
West Hawaii’s clear blue waters this week offered up big fun, smiles and fish for two keiki visiting Hawaii Island through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The boys, Addison Kleinhans, 9, visiting from Colorado, and Elias Norton, 8, visiting from Massachusetts, who both were diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, each spent about a week with their parents and a sibling enjoying some of what Hawaii Island has to offer from sportfishing, surfing and snorkeling to swimming with the dolphins and manta ray, checking out the world’s most active volcano and flying in a helicopter deep into valleys along the Hamakua Coast.
“The whole day was surreal,” said Addison’s mother, Sarah Kleinhans, following a full-day aboard Bite Me 2, one of Bite Me Sportfishing’s and Ocean Encounters seven vessels. “It’s like prom, but different, because you build up all these expectations that sometimes don’t happen and this has been the complete opposite. I was worried it wasn’t going to happen, but it’s exceeded the expectations.”
On Monday, Addison, Sarah, sister, Madelene, 12, and dad, Kip, spent the day on the water with father and son tandem-reeling in a 101-pound big eye tuna before everyone jumped into Kealakekua Bay for some snorkeling where they were delighted by yellow tang, an eel and more. Humpback whales and plenty of playful dolphins were more than willing to show off for the family throughout the day.
“I’ve been waiting four years to do this,” Addison told West Hawaii Today as the 46-foot Hatteras vessel departed Honokohau Small Boat Harbor and Marina. “I wanted to surf, fish, eat food and swim with the dolphins.”
Addison was diagnosed in April 2010 — when he was 5 — with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. ALL, as it is also known, is the most common type of cancer among children, according to the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute.
Shortly after being diagnosed, the 8-year-old was visited by Make-A-Wish Wish Granters who asked him to “make a wish.” About two days later, Addison, whose room features a tropical beach mural and posters, had his wish: He wanted to go to Hawaii to swim with dolphins.
While many families get a wish granted quickly, the Kleinhans family opted to stick out treatment and wait until he was in remission before making the trek. That, Sarah said, provided much-needed strength through treatment.
“It gave him hope — and us hope — the whole time,” Sarah said, adding that Addison hung a poster over his bed of Hawaii to remind him of where he would be going when treatment was complete.
Like Addison, Elias, the 9-year-old who grew up on Nantucket Island but moved to Boston after being diagnosed at age 5 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, made a similar wish when Make-A-Wish Wish Granters asked him what he would love to do. Elias wanted to go to Hawaii, but for a different reason: world-class sportfishing. He also wanted to see the volcano.
Though less than a decade old, Elias is already quite the angler.
“He’s obsessed with fishing,” said Mai, Elias’ mother, adding that his maternal grandfather instilled the love for fishing in Elias from a young age, teaching him the ins and outs of the trade.
Tuesday was the day Elias’ wish of sportfishing with his family, mom, Mai, dad, Aaron, and brother, Isaac, 6, was granted. The brown-haired youngster was serious and ready to hit the water just as the sun rose over Hualalai, about 6:30 a.m. He was looking forward to reeling in a fish in Hawaii waters to see how it differed from back home on the East Coast.
“For a little one, he sure was strong,” said Elias after reeling in the first fish of the day, an aku, or skipjack tuna.
Elias set out with a mission to land a mahi mahi or tuna, but the big ones just weren’t biting Tuesday morning despite a few nibbles and teases from what Capt. Jeff Winston, who served as deckhand Tuesday for Bite Me 6 Capt. Deneen Wargo, said looked like a striped marlin and “something big.”
Nevertheless, Elias proudly came back to land with a nice catch: 10 fish, a mix of aku and ahi, or yellowfin tuna. He also got to watch his fish being cut-up, prepared and served at the Bite Me Fish Market and Grill.
As the sun prepared to set Tuesday, Addison and family, who’ve been on the island for nearly a week, took to the waters for a special treat: snorkeling with manta rays in waters off the Keauhou area with Ocean Encounters. Tuesday night, both boys and their families were slated to meet one another, however, the Norton family was unable to make it following a long day of fishing.
During the snorkel tour, Addison and family got up close and personal with a few rays that swooped within just inches of them, garnering exclamations of “whoa” and “that was close” as the cartilaginous fish fed off the plankton attracted by light shined through the dark water.
“I loved it,” Addison said. “It was amazing.”
Looking back over the week, Sarah Kleinhans said she will always remember her son being “well enough to do everything he wanted to do.”
Added Kip: “It was gold.”
The national Make-A-Wish Foundation was established in 1980 after Phoenix police officers granted the wish of a 7-year-old, who had been diagnosed with leukemia, to be a police officer for a day. Children with life-threatening illnesses between ages 2 1/2 and 18 are eligible with referral from a doctor.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Hawaii was established in September 1982 and since has granted more than 900 Hawaii kids’ wishes. Annually, the 13th chapter of the national Make-A-Wish Foundation assists in granting the wishes of 700 children who want to visit Hawaii.
“When local businesses get involved in making a wish powerful we are able to create an unforgettable experience for not only a child but the entire family,” Make-A-Wish Hawaii CEO Siana Hunt said in a prepared statement.
For Bite Me owner Capt. Brian Wargo, who headed the vessel on which Addison landed the large big eye tuna, the experience of being able to use the assets at his disposal to make a wish come true for the boys is worth it all.
“You get a much bigger appreciation for catching kids fish especially one that’s gone through a tough road already,” he said after Addison disembarked his boat Monday. “It’s very rewarding.”
Added Stephanie Smith, public relations for the company: “Why wouldn’t you if you could make a child’s wish come true?”
For more information, to get involved or to donate visit makeawishhawaii.org or call 537-3118.