Life has hit Tristian and his family hard, but they’re not letting it get the better of them. To help with their mission of defiance, Satan’s Little Helper sent them for a night away in Hamner Springs.
In June 2022, 16-year-old Tristian Roverts was given news that nobody should have to hear.
“We were sat down and told he only has months left to live,” explains his mum, Catherine. “He has goals and dreams; he wants to become an electrician and call himself ‘The ElecTristian’. We love his sense of humour. Life can be so cruel to the best of people.”
Tristian has undergone radiation and chemotherapy without success. His tumour is still growing. Unfortunately, he is now in palliative care.
Has to fight
“There’s nothing doctors can do apart from let his body fight against the cancer,” says Catherine.
Making life more challenging is the fact that Tristian also has ADHD and is on the autism spectrum. However, his mum says he’s not the type of kid to let his problems control how he lives his life.
“The way he’s been handling his illness has been astonishing. He’s pretending like he doesn’t have it and is trying to live life as normally as possible. He’s been stronger than I have been through half of it!
“One of the chemo medications affected his ability to walk, but he’s fought back, which is so impressive and shows the type of character he is.”
When Satan’s Little Helper heard about his heart-breaking story, we knew we had to do something to put a smile on his face and give him some quality time with his family.
Quality time together
That’s why we sent Tristian, his parents and his four siblings to Hamner Springs for the night – and threw in a full day at the pools as well.
“The trip went really well,” says Catherine. “We all really enjoyed it because we haven’t been able to go into a swimming pool for well over a year, as Tristian has been hooked up to tubes and wires.
“It was wonderful to see a smile on Tristian’s face. He loved the trip and the whole experience. He likes hanging out with his siblings and it’s not often they get the chance to do that. It was amazing to do something big like that as a family.”
Due to his ADHD and autism, Catherine says Tristian can be a little “anti-social and withdrawn”; however, she saw a different side of him during their trip away.
“I find that when we take him out that he really comes out of his shell, which is lovely to see.”
She says the best part of the trip was splashing around the hot pools and going on the hydroslide – and having Tristian able to join in on everything the family did.