Together for Riley
This page is a way for friends, family, and community to stand behind Riley and his whānau during his osteosarcoma treatment journey.
Hawke's Bay
Riley is a determined 12-year-old whose world revolves around sport — especially cricket and football — games he not only loves but truly excels at. He has recently been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer that affects only around 4–5 children in New Zealand each year. This diagnosis has gutted and shocked us all, turning our lives upside down as we face what lies ahead for Riley and his family.
For his parents, Chris and Sally, and his sister Belle, everything changed in an instant. Riley is now facing months of intensive treatment, including long hospital stays and specialist care, with time spent in Starship Hospital for approximately 12 months. At just 12 years old, life should be about school, mates, and time on the sports fields — not hospital wards and treatment plans.
Chris and Sally’s focus is entirely on supporting Riley through treatment while also being there for Belle. Alongside the emotional toll comes significant financial pressure — time off work, travel, accommodation, and everyday living costs that don’t pause during this journey.
This Givealittle page has been set up to help ease some of that burden so the family can focus on what matters most: Riley’s treatment, recovery, and time together.
Riley — we are all here behind you. Your family, friends, and community are standing with you every step of the way.
Every donation, no matter the size, will make a real difference. Thank you for your kindness and support.
Rebecca Christie's involvement (page creator)
Chris and Sally are very close friends of mine and watching what their family is about to face has been incredibly hard. This page has been created with their blessing, from a place of love, to help support them through Riley’s treatment.
Use of funds
Funds raised will help support Riley and his family with the very real costs that come with long-term cancer treatment, including time off work, travel, accommodation, parking, meals, and everyday household expenses while Riley undergoes treatment.
Latest update
6 Weeks Post Surgery 21 June 2026
It’s hard to believe Riley is now 6 weeks post-surgery!
He’s doing really well, although he’s still not allowed to put any weight through his leg or bend his knee. He’s itching to get started with physio and begin using his leg again.
After spending a month at Starship following surgery, Riley was able to come home for a couple of weeks (although one of those weeks was spent in Hastings Hospital!). Even so, it was really cool that he got to celebrate his 13th birthday at home with family and friends.
The biggest news, though, is that we’ve received the results from his surgery and they were better than we could have hoped for. The margins were NEGATIVE, meaning the tumour was removed completely with clear margins, an enormous relief for all of us.
The pathology results also showed 99% necrosis, meaning 99% of the tumour was made up of dead cancer cells. We’ve been told this is an exceptional result, especially for osteosarcoma, and something that is very rarely seen.
This week we are back up to starship for chemo (over halfway through his treatment now!) and for Riley to have his staples removed, all 85 of them!
We continue to feel incredibly grateful for the amazing teams at Starship and Hastings Hospital, who have cared for Riley every step of the way, and for the overwhelming support, kindness and generosity that has been shown to our family. There is still a road ahead, but Riley continues to take everything in his stride and is absolutely smashing this cancer for 6.👊
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