‘A tough six months’: Naperville North graduate returns to celebrate cancer recovery

Adrian Lam sensed something was different on Tuesday night.

Lam, a 2023 Naperville North graduate who played three years on the varsity water polo team, has walked into the school’s Aquatic Center 100s of times.

But Lam quickly realized this was no ordinary meeting.

“I thought it was a pizza party and we were going to talk about game prep for New Trier this weekend,” Lam said. “Once we came upstairs, I was wondering what was going on and why we were celebrating. I looked behind and was like wondering why the coaches weren’t following me upstairs. I knew something was going on. Then, I saw everyone with pom-poms cheering for me, it was a really good and heartwarming feeling for me.”

Walking through the small hallways that leads to the viewing area for water polo and swimming events, Lam immediately started smiling when he noticed a large throng of colorfully dressed friends, family, community members and parents of current water polo parents.

Wearing an Illinois T-shirt and black shorts, Lam gave an emotional short speech to the group of nearly 75 supporters on Tuesday night, shedding a few tears while adding “I had such hard times in the hospital and couldn’t eat or sleep and it was so miserable that I’m so thankful for all of you guys to be with me right now” before he was engulfed by a group hug by several of his former teammates.

The 18-year-old Lam and his family were presented with an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii via the Nikolas Ritschel Foundation. Nikolas Ritschel was diagnosed with cancer just before his 18th birthday, and was granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Right before cancer took his life, Nikolas helped set up the foundation in his name to grant wishes for kids 18 and over, which is also known as “Nik’s Wish.”

Lam was diagnosed with Burkitt Lymphoma, an aggressive non-Hodgin B-Cell Lymphoma last summer. After undergoing aggressive chemotherapy, Lam is nearly fully recovered.

Lam said he dropped nearly 40 pounds, his frame dipped down to 6-foot-2 and 135 pounds “because he wasn’t eating.”

Lam was diagnosed officially on Aug. 17, the same week he was planning to move into his dorm at the University of Illinois.

“The toughest time for me was probably right when I got transferred into Lurie Children's Hospital,” Lam said. “There’s a certain period of time where the cancer was causing a lot of physical problems and health problems and a part they need to start you on chemotherapy, so those two combined are a really bad combination.

“Water polo prepared me a bit for it. If you want to beat cancer, you have take it one lap at a time, or even one stroke at a time and just get by day by day. You can end up here, with so many amazing people who care for you. I’m so happy so many people care about me. I just really appreciate all my teammates. Even after I graduated, I had some doubts that maybe they wouldn’t want me here. I was completely wrong.”

His father, Wilson Lam, said Tuesday’s 30-plus minute presentation and party was a memorable occasion. The elaborate ceremony included several pizzas from Lou Malnati’s, along with two cakes and a Hawaiian theme complete with palm trees, colorful decorations and lights. Most of the parents and supporters also donned Hawaiian T-shirts and leis. Later in the ceremony, organizers for the event asked Lam and the entire party to come outside and take pictures near a giant yellow genie lamp. Lam rubbed and signed the lamp for good luck.

His father, Wilson Lam, said Tuesday’s event was like a ray of sunshine to Adrian.

“It’s been a tough six months for us, but we’re really happy we made it to today, and to see Adrian fully recovered,” Wilson Lam said.

His mother, Angela Lam, couldn’t stop smiling throughout the 30-minute ceremony.

“He’s always been wanting to go back to Hawaii because now he’s a better swimmer and can handle surfing,” Angela Lam said. “The first few months were very difficult for us. We were in and out of the hospital in Chicago. He spent more than 60 days in the hospital.”

Naperville North boys water polo coach Kelly Reif said she was thrilled to see the smiles on the faces of Adrian and his family. She said Tuesday’s ceremony meant a lot to her since she overcame breast cancer.

Reif said she’s happy to see Lam back in the program. Lam, a key player on last season’s state team, is an assistant coach for the boys water polo team.

“This is very touching to me because in my first year coaching here, I was going through cancer, and Adrian and all the boys were all so supportive of me, so to be able to give back to him is very special,” Reif said.