The beat goes on with Radio Lollipop....

Hi there, my name’s Hunter and I’m eleven years old. In late June 2017 out of nowhere, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a week later I had my first admission to Starship Hospital. I was super scared and overwhelmed by what was happening to me, I had a tube stuck into my nose and was told I couldn’t eat anything for the next two months. My world collapsed, I was stuck in a small room hooked up to beeping machines and I could no longer eat.

Mum tried everything to distract me in that hospital room, but I was having a really hard time and was devastated that I wasn’t a ‘normal’ kid anymore. She bought me a book to read called Radio Boy, it was about a fictional kid a bit older than me who was fired from his job as a hospital radio DJ. He then went on to create his own radio show in a garden shed, I really enjoyed the book and Mum told me then that Starship Hospital had its own kids radio station too.

That night, Mum convinced me that no one would stare at me with the tube stuck in my nose if I visited Radio Lollipop. My first visit was awesome! I was very self conscious of how I looked but I was able to join the other kids in the studio and enjoy the music and fun and forget for an hour or two where I was and why I was there. Every night for the rest of my stay I returned to Radio Lollipop building up enough courage to speak on air, it was the best distraction ever for me.

So much so that when I was discharged from Starship I went home and started working on creating my own radio station. Inspired by the book I had read and the cool stuff I had done at Radio Lollipop I created Radio Skin, and started my very own podcasts.

I’ve been back and forth to Starship every month for check ups, procedures and week long stays for the past year since my diagnosis. It’s like I’m stuck on a roller coaster ride and can’t get off right now, but one thing Crohn’s disease has taught me is to take one day at a time, and to find things to look forward to on this journey I didn’t plan on.

About six months ago I was in hospital for another procedure, when I came out of surgery I asked Mum if I could volunteer as a DJ at Radio Lollipop so that I could help cheer up kids who like me, may have been scared and a bit lost too. She explained to me that I needed to wait another six years as I had to be to 18 to volunteer. But I wouldn’t give up.

Finally Mum wrote to the Radio Lollipop team to share my request, and to pass on our thanks for helping me navigate through the ups and downs with my disease. Radio Lollipop gave me the inspiration to reach out to others with my own radio show, on the days when I didn’t have the energy to go outside with friends, or get on my bike with my sister, I was able to focus on the tiny radio world in my room using the skills I had gained by my visits to Radio Lollipop.

Over the last 6 months I’ve been invited to join the Lollipop team whenever my health allows me to. I’ve been able to make other sick kids smile with my Dad jokes on air, I’ve helped run in ward on air competitions distracting kids too sick to visit the Radio Lollipop studio. I’ve met the most amazing people, the Radio Lollipop volunteers are epic, they don’t care if I’m well, or if I’m hooked up to a wheely pole carrying my food which beeps in the middle of live crosses. I’ve also made some new friends with the other kids who love the music, warmth and energy in the studio.

Now, my home grown radio station boasts mixing desks, microphones and subscribers all thanks to the Radio Lollipop experience I’ve been privileged to have.

It costs thousands of dollars each year to run Radio Lollipop, if I could, I’d give them the money they need to fund the station. Their goal this year is to get the live show I sometimes appear on, heard at Kidzfirst, Waitakere and in Whangarei hospital too. How cool is that!

Part of my journey with Crohn’s disease is to help others find the good in otherwise sad and scary circumstances, hopefully helping others by bringing laughter and music to everyone.

Please help me reach my fundraising target, so that I can help Radio Lollipop help other kids like me find the silver lining in their own personal rain cloud.