By Tyler A. McNeil/The Leader-Herald
JOHNSTOWN — An 11-year-old Johnstown boy might be tougher than some of the most rugged wrestling champs in the ring.
Just ask a fan of the mighty Drew Hale.
“Yeah, he might be,” said his father, Scott Hale. “He would say that. He didn’t cry one time during surgery, which is a lot tougher than me.”
When the “tougher than nails” boy, Drew, was diagnosed with brain cancer at 8-years-old, it put a damper on plans scheduled only a week later to attend World Wrestling Entertainment’s Monday Night Raw as a Christmas present from his parents.
Sports entertainment is a big deal for the Hale household, including little brother EJ, be it attending wrestling events across upstate New York, or piling action figures across the floor. Drew’s illness was a deviation from normalcy, especially for his younger sibling.
“[EJ] going to see his brother go through chemotherapy, seeing him being sick going through chemotherapy and us not being home because we’re at the hospital with Drew,” Scott said. “It affected him as well.
Help quickly emerged. Scores of supporters across the Greater Johnstown School District — where Scott works as a principal and Drew’s mother, Amy Hale, a 4th grade teacher — launched “Blue For Drew” fundraisers to cover Drew’s expenses.
“It’s not just for Drew, but when anything happens, when anything comes up and just some community just comes together,” said Scott. “It always comes together.”
A number of friends referred the child to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to granting wishes for critically ill children. Referrals are passed onto the guardians and family doctor and “if the child has a qualifying condition, then it’s determined the child is, in fact, eligible for a wish,” said Make-A-Wish Northeastern New York spokesperson Mark McGuire.
The typical wish costs upwards of $12,000, according to McGuire. The group’s local chapter, active in 15 counties, has granted more than 2,000 wishes since 1987.
Drew’s wish was to attend WrestleMania, the biggest event on the WWE calendar. The family was originally among the 70,000 fans scheduled to fill up Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida for what would’ve been the event’s 36th incarnation.
Then, COVID-19 hit.
“Our trip was set and we were ready to go,” said Amy Hale. “It was just a week before everything was shut down.”
WrestleMania that year was moved to a closed set in Orlando, Florida. A year later, the event returned in front a live audience in its original location in Tampa, albeit under a strict set of COVID-19 guidelines.
Make-a-Wish kept its promise.
“They were always in contact with us,” said Scott. “They were always giving us updates. They were amazing.”
Drew didn’t know that he would attend WrestleMania until about a week before the event. During a Make-A-Wish’s Spark Joy gala in Saratoga Springs, a surprise group of independent wrestlers gave Drew the news.
It was worth it.
“I felt very excited, because I had to wait two years for it,” Drew said.
The Hales’ trip to WrestleMania 38 in Arlington, Texas, was packed with action, shopping and a meet-and-greet luncheon with WWE superstars. Drew Hale’s favorite wrestler is the rugged Scotsman who shares his first name, Drew McIntyre.
“There wasn’t really much downtime at all,” Scott said. “It was all WrestleMania stuff.”
Drew especially enjoyed Cody Rhodes facing off against Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar taking on Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship. He reported feeling a mix of happiness and fear during the annual event because “there were a lot of people there and I didn’t know what to expect.”
The family has since kept in touch with Make-A-Wish. Drew serves as a star kid ambassador for the local chapter during its Adopt-A-Wish Holiday Campaign to raise $210,000 for wishes for a total of 20 children. The campaign kicked off last Thursday.
While Scott has contributed to the group over the years, he believes he didn’t fully understand the group’s message until he was dealing with a critically ill child himself. The 44-year-old father now hopes to work as a full-time volunteer for Make-A-Wish when he reaches retirement.
“I would go and buy the stars and think, ‘Oh, what a cool thing,'” said Scott Hale. “But then it hits home, it hits you and then you realize how phenomenal this organization is.”
Meanwhile, Drew’s condition has improved. Doctors have reduced medical imaging appointments from once every three months to once every six months to, as discussed in September, yearly. Only part of the low grade glioma tumor remains.
“You know, there’s potential for it to grow again,” Scott said. “But we have hope.”
Tyler A. McNeil can be reached at 518-395-3047 or [email protected]
