Meet Great Neighbor Riley Meunier
By: Kym Whitney
Corona del Mar High School senior Riley Meunier had a rough start in life. As an infant, he was diagnosed with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a rare immunodeficiency disease. He ended up spending approximately 100 days at CHOC and celebrated his first birthday in the hospital. Fortunately, his older sister, just two years old at the time, was a perfect match for the life-saving bone marrow transplant Riley needed.
Riley's mom, Amy Meunier, said she and her son, who still has scars on his chest and neck from the bone marrow transplant, try to do something every Jan. 24 — the anniversary of the transplant — to commemorate the occasion and celebrate his life. This year, they went to Disneyland.
Although Riley doesn't remember the life-saving procedure he underwent just before his first birthday, he still believes in paying it forward. Riley and his mom started the tradition of returning to CHOC each year to celebrate people at the hospital with events like a toy drive or a breakfast for the nurses. Then, while attending CDMHS, Riley started a CHOC club, intending to benefit the hospital. The club, which had CdM English teacher Shelly Bergan as an adviser, quickly grew to more than 20 members, and in just a few months, they raised $2,650 for the hospital this year. The money raised was officially donated during a visit to CHOC in May of this year.
Club vice president Bodie Staples, Secretary Bryson White, and Treasurer Bryce Roberts went with Riley to deliver the check to CHOC. Colleen Torres accepted the donation and said the money would go toward the hospital's greatest needs, including supporting families in care and groundbreaking research. The students also talked to Torres about partnering with CHOC during spirit days on campus this year to increase awareness.
"Not just having the parental support but also having the kids wanting to lead forward, that's huge," Torres said. "Sometimes you get kids who do periodic or seasonal fundraising, but having a kid like Riley who has been doing it all these years and is actually starting clubs at his school means so much to us. He's developing advocacy, and he's bringing his friends along with his journey and making them a part of the CHOC journey too. We're proud to be able to work with amazing advocates like him."
Riley's family is also very proud that he is making a difference of his own volition. Now if only he didn't bicker so much with his older sister, Sydney, who provided the bone marrow for his life-saving surgery.
"He does need to be a little bit nicer to his sister," Amy Meunier said with a laugh. "She did save his life."
