'He made us so proud' - Derbyshire family pays tribute to 'angel little boy’ as he loses fight with cancer

Riley Jordan Hill, passed away in the early hours on Monday, December 19 at his home in the village of Middleton, after eight years of fighting with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a tissue cancer.

Wendy Hill, 64, Riley’s grandma said: “I think God wanted him back because he was such a thoughtful little boy, an angel put on earth. He was so kind, he couldn’t stand others' suffering and always wanted to help. We were always so proud of him. He adored me and I adored him. It hasn’t hit me yet that he is gone. I still think he will shout from upstairs ‘Nan give me a glass of milk!”

Riley who was a ‘great gamer’ and a fan of sonic the hedgehog was first diagnosed with cancer in October 2018 and underwent two years of treatment.

Sarah Hill, 36, Riley’s mum said: “It was difficult to explain to him when he was just four years old that he has cancer. We had to tell him there is a naughty monkey in his stomach making him feel ill.”

After being cancer-free for a year and a half, Riley was diagnosed with remission in 2019 and went through another 18 months of treatment. He experienced another two remissions before he sadly passed away just before Christmas.

Wendy said: “The chemotherapy he was taking was melting his body, it was just burning him from the inside, and he was weeing blood. He was suffering so much. But he didn’t ask us to stop the treatment, he wanted to fight.

"He never cried from pain, he always smiled. When his mobility got worse and he had to use a mobility scooter, he didn’t complain about it, but he used to take his friends on rides. Middleton School organised a superhero day for him because they recognised how brave Riley was and that he was a hero.”

Sarah added: “He always thought about everyone else first. I remember when he was eight and he asked me if he is so ill that he could die and when I told him he could, the first thing he said was: ‘what about you and nan, it will break your hearts when I die.’

“He was very chatty and wanted to talk to strangers and invite them to our house. I needed to tell him off for that many times. He always wanted to help others. If there were homeless people next to Tesco he was asking me to get something for them and if they had a dog, he was getting some food for the dog as well.

“He loved animals, we rescued two horses and he loved spending time with them and with our two dogs. His greatest dream was to open an animal rescue for people who can’t afford a vet. Now we want to have a rescue centre set up in his memory.”

As Riley’s family realised how complicated his condition was, they started looking for different treatment options abroad. They found out about a medical centre in the USA offering Rhabdomyosarcoma treatment for children and they soon set up a fundraiser.

Jane Monaghan, landlady at the Nelson Arms pub in Middleton, who helped lead the fundraising efforts said: "Riley was an amazing little boy, who lived his entire life knowing he had cancer but was desperate to do normal things. He was always smiling, loved animals and often did random acts of kindness which sparked kindness in other people."

Wendy said: “Middleton village was amazing, so many people donated, everyone was asking how Riley was doing, they were brilliant. Nelson Arms pub and Middlteon School were amazing and many Matlock businesses helped.”

Sarah added: “How the village came in together, they carried us. It’s a small community but it did make a large difference.”

The family and local community managed to raise over £20,000 out of their £100,000 target but lost a race with time.

Sarah said: “We were asking the hospital for a while to do an MRI scan to check for remissions. Finally, they agreed to do an ultrasound scan and it showed Riley was okay. But he was feeling bad during that weekend. They agreed to do an MRI on the following Tuesday - it showed the cancer was in his spine, lungs, hips, and legs. We thought he was okay and then four days later we heard we had just three weeks left.

"We understand NHS is underfunded and MRI scans are expensive but it was such a horrible feeling. We were destroyed we had so little time left. I would say to all parents in the same situation to push for MRIs We don’t want to let other people go through it.”

After Sarah, Wendy and Riley heard the diagnosis, they decided that Riley should spend the last few weeks at home, where he was feeling the most comfortable.

Sarah said: “The last few days he was in so much pain, but he didn’t cry. He was so brave. Doctor Penny Blackwell, our local GP from Hannage Brooke medical center was coming down in her pyjamas at all hours to give him strong pain relief. He was on 60 milligrams of diamorphine, while a typical dose for a kid his age was three milligrams. I was on hold with 111 for 45 minutes when he died and the ambulance got to us 20 minutes later.

“He was so strong and brave. After he passed away we asked people on Facebook to do one act of kindness in memory of Riley - helping people, animals and the environment was always the most important for him and made us so proud of him.”