Children at Wairakei Primary School make their own tribute to those children who have been affected by cancer. Photo: More FM

Taupō’s Noah Hall passed away last month at the age of just eight, but his family are continuing a campaign this year to try and make a difference for other kids.

By Dan Hutchinson

Noah’s uncle Chris Mercer says it was just over a year ago they went out for a celebratory dinner when Noah’s cancer was officially in remission.

A few months later, the cancer that started in his kidney was back and spreading. Noah and his medical team just couldn’t fix it this time.

Noah was diagnosed with cancer not long after starting school at Taupō Primary School. A sore leg over Easter weekend prompted a visit to Taupō Hospital, and within days he was transferred to Starship Hospital in Auckland.

"We went from being just another normal local family to one that all of a sudden is dealing with a child with cancer," Chris says.

Noah underwent surgery to remove a kidney, and his mother (Chris’ sister) made the decision early on to keep him fully informed about everything he was going through.

"Getting this diagnosis really sort of overnight ends a kid's childhood because they've all of a sudden got to grow up and deal with a lot of stuff that even us as adults would really struggle to deal with," Chris says.

Noah's humour became one of his defining qualities. After his first surgery, when a doctor jokingly asked if he'd been attacked by a shark, Noah looked at him and replied, ‘No, excuse me, you cut me open with a knife,’ Chris says.

Throughout Noah's illness, the Child Cancer Foundation helped them navigate the medical system, understand what lay ahead, and provide Noah with "beads of courage," small beads awarded for every treatment and procedure he underwent, with larger beads marking surgeries.

"The people from the Child Cancer Foundation are there every step of the way, sort of helping navigate that whole journey," Chris says.

September is Child Cancer Awareness Month and Noah’s campaign had been in the works for months, with Noah himself keen to help other children facing cancer. His passing last month gave the effort a deeper significance, Chris says.

"Having lost him last month, it's kind of a perfect time to give him a bit of a positive legacy, to put our efforts as a family into something positive and try and raise some money for the Child Cancer Foundation.”

Chris Mercer, and his company MBP Advisory, have joined with More FM Taupō, Pak’nSave and Taupō News, to share Noah's story, and announce the ‘Shop Big, Give Back’ initiative happening on September 24. Pak’nSave will donate for every $100 spent on that day.

People can also donate directly to the Noah’s Legacy donations page on the Child Cancer Foundation’s WigWednesday.org.nz website.

Noah finds time to enjoy the moment. Photo: Supplied

QUOTES

“A few years ago, my little nephew Noah got diagnosed with cancer, and it’s a big shock to any family. But at the time, like when you’re first going through it, you don’t really understand the sort of scale and the path that’s ahead for you.”

Background: Chris is speaking on air with Andrew about his nephew Noah and the family’s experience following his cancer diagnosis, setting the scene for why he has come into the studio during Child Cancer Awareness Month.

Chris Mercer

“It is something that very quickly isolates local families from the rest of the community. Because if you’ve got a child going through something like that, you don’t feel like you can go to the supermarket at the same time, they can’t go to school, you can’t go to the same sort of sports events and all that sort of stuff. The Child Cancer Foundation does a lot of work quietly in the background to really support the families that are going through so much in our community that the rest of us probably just aren’t even aware of.”

Background: Chris is explaining to Andrew the isolating reality that families face when a child is diagnosed with cancer, and the role the Child Cancer Foundation plays in supporting them.

Chris Mercer

“Noah lost his battle with cancer at the end of last month, and we’ve been sort of looking at doing something with him for Child Cancer Awareness Month for quite a few months. He was quite excited about sort of doing what he could to sort of help the other kids and sort of give back to all the people that had been so helpful to him.”

Background: Andrew has noted to listeners that Noah has passed away, and Chris confirms this, explaining that the campaign had been in the works for some time — something Noah himself had been involved in planning before his death.

Chris Mercer

“Having lost him last month, it’s kind of a perfect time to give him a bit of a positive legacy, to put our efforts as a family into something positive and try and raise some money for the Child Cancer Foundation, but also raise awareness around the fact that there are a heap of families in our community that are probably going through very similar sort of struggles, and we don’t have to let them struggle in silence.”

Background: Chris is explaining the family’s motivation for continuing with the campaign following Noah’s death, framing it as an opportunity to honour his memory while doing something meaningful for other families in similar situations.

Chris Mercer

“Noah was sadly diagnosed with cancer just after he started school at Taupo Primary School. So he got himself his nice first sort of term there. Easter weekend, had a bit of a sore leg, couldn’t go to the doctor, so went up to the local Taupo Hospital. And thankfully, the entire health system locally and nationally sort of is kind of there to bend over backwards for kids. So within days, he was up at Starship Hospital in Auckland getting all the care and things that he needed.”

Background: Chris is recounting the story of how Noah’s cancer was first discovered — a sore leg over Easter weekend that led to a hospital visit and a swift escalation to Starship Hospital in Auckland.

Chris Mercer

“We went from being just another normal local family to one that all of a sudden is dealing with a child with cancer and having to sort of tweak and change everything to suit that and build our entire lives around what scans are happening when, what tests are happening, like what hospital do we have to be in.”

Background: Chris is describing the upheaval the family experienced after Noah’s diagnosis, illustrating how completely a child cancer diagnosis can reshape a family’s day-to-day life.

Chris Mercer

“My sister made the choice in those very early days that she wasn’t going to sugarcoat anything for him, that she was going to make sure that he was fully informed, on the journey with everybody else, knowing exactly what we all knew. So he had his first surgery — he had to have his kidney removed because he had kidney cancer, that’s where it started. And the doctor walked in straight after the surgery and said, ‘Oh, what’s happened to you? Have you been attacked by a shark?’ And he looked at the doctor like he was a fool and just said, ‘No, excuse me, you cut me open with a knife.’ And the doctor was like, ‘Oh yeah, yeah, sorry, I did do that.’”

Background: Chris is sharing a story that captures Noah’s character — sharp, grounded, and unafraid. His mother had chosen from the outset to be completely honest with him about his condition, and this exchange with the surgeon after his kidney removal reflects the kind of boy Noah had become.

Chris Mercer

“Getting this diagnosis really sort of overnight ends a kid’s childhood because they’ve all of a sudden got to grow up and deal with a lot of stuff that even us as adults would really struggle to deal with. But he took it in his stride. He sort of just grew up really, really fast. He became an adult overnight and had the sort of side-eye and the sass and all that sort of stuff of somebody a lot older than him.”

Background: Chris is reflecting on how Noah’s diagnosis fundamentally changed him, ageing him beyond his years while also revealing a resilience and wit that left a lasting impression on those around him.

Chris Mercer

“The awesome owners up at the local Taupo Pak’nSave have come on board, and on the 24th of this month, anybody who shops there and spends over $100, they’re making a donation to the Child Cancer Foundation appeal. We’ve got a page up on the Child Cancer Foundation’s Wig Wednesday fundraising page for Noah’s Legacy, and there’s a few other little events and stuff going on around that as well.”

Background: Chris is outlining the practical details of the Shop Big, Give Back campaign — a community fundraising initiative organised in Noah’s honour, involving the local Pak’nSave and tied to the Child Cancer Foundation’s Wig Wednesday fundraiser.

Chris Mercer