Ripp’s Story

Meet Ripp! Over the summer of 2023, the Niemanns started noticing very subtle symptoms that Ripp was feeling a little off - tummy aches, sleeping a lot and refusing his favorite foods. Things quickly changed in September when he stopped walking and was in excruciating pain. Two days later Ripp was diagnosed with Stage 3 high risk neuroblastoma. His parents, Jori and Daniel, were on an anniversary/birthday trip in Hawaii, their first vacation away from the kids. They had been told, at their most recent of six doctors visits, that he had a virus and constipation. When they were called on their trip and told Ripp was not doing well they asked their nanny to take him in to the hospital and immediately rushed home.

That day in September 2023 started a journey of hospital visits, treatments, managing side effects, a month long bone marrow transplant, radiation and antibody therapy. Ripp is currently on phase 3 (the last phase) of treatment. He will soon be entering his fourth of six rounds of immunotherapy. That will last through October at which point he will have scans to determine if the cancer is still responding how the doctors hope. If it is, he will be eligible to start DFMO, a maintenance treatment, in January 2025.

Ripp turned five in June and outside of the hospital he is a tenacious little boy with an old soul who loves anything that has wheels or flies. His family likes to call him Dennis the menace because he loves to cause chaos wherever he goes! They love to see the chaos because they know if Ripp is being mischievous then you know he’s feeling himself. Ripp’s sparkly eyes will pull you right in reminding you that whether you’re at home, in a hospital or somewhere in between you get to choose to ‘be the light’. Despite his circumstances, Ripp finds a way to be the light, always making the people around him smile.