HOOPER -- A Hooper couple who nearly lost their son on several occasions as doctors fought a large, aggressive brain tumor for nearly 22 months now is returning to a mostly normal life.
While 4-year-old Briggs Hill's recovery has presented its own unique battles, things are starting to calm down for Brenn and Salina Hill and their three children.
Last week, Briggs started preschool. His 8-year-old brother, Quayden, plays four sports, sending the family to spend much time in area parks. Eighteen-month-old Cambridge takes the chance to entertain spectators with animal sounds.
But their life today, while more predictable, is anything but the same as it was before that fateful day in November 2008 when they received the scare of their lives.
Brenn and Salina say they wouldn't have chosen their trial. But they also say they now wouldn't trade anything for what they've gained from the experience.
"For all that cancer and a battle like this takes from you, there is so much more that you gain," said Brenn. "It makes you into a person you couldn't have been otherwise -- with an eye for things like relationships."
"I personally think it made us stronger in every way," Salina said. "Our outlook on life and the afterlife has made us so much stronger."
She lists the friends her family has made along the way as some of the biggest rewards.
And when Briggs was chosen to give a talk in the Hooper 3rd Ward Primary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a few weeks ago, the generally quiet boy boldly told his audience, "I am a miracle."
Salina said Briggs was overjoyed when asked to speak. "He just got so he was so excited," said the mother. "He had no fear. He just grabbed that mic and talked away."
His parents also like to talk about miracles, namely how much deeper their love is for each other and their family after experiencing their son's illness. Looking back to more than a year of sleeping mostly on an air mattress on her son's hospital room floor and going for days without seeing her husband and other family members, Salina said she is most excited now about those times when the whole family just lounges around in their pajamas.
"You definitely appreciate time together when you haven't been able to do it for a year," Salina said. "Anything at home is great. To know that every single one of us are here together is so much fun."
As overwhelming as her situation was, Salina said she saw much worse trials in families who lost their children.
"There were families that had the exact same diagnosis as Briggs and now they no longer have their loved one," she said.
"You go in thinking that you have it so tough and you end up so grateful for the situation you are in," she said. "You can feel blessed for such a humble thing."
A country Western singer, Brenn performed in a benefit concert for one boy who suffered in the same situation as his own son. That boy later died.
He was just one of a host of children besides his own son who have touched Brenn in the last year, causing him to reflect deeper on the true meaning of life in his song writing.
Some songs on his latest CD, "Equine," were written since his son's diagnosis. These songs, he's learned, are appealing to a much wider audience than his work has previously experienced.
Brenn said his publicists suggested making the album available to parenting groups and to cancer fighting organizations of the world.
One of Salina's fondest memories was visiting "A Day for Briggs" last fall where Hooper residents and others gathered in Hooper Park to raise money for Briggs' medical expenses.
"To think of little Hooper putting on something so big," she said, shaking her head. "I thought maybe there was a rodeo going on at the same time because there were so many people and so many cars."
And the money raised not just in Hooper but throughout many communities as Brenn's country Western fans and others all wished to lend a hand was more than the family needed to pay for their son's care.
Now, Brenn is using the extra funds to cover his expenses as he offers his vocal performances free to raise funds for other children who are sick.
This is something the performer did before Briggs was diagnosed; in fact, Brenn followed through on a performance to raise money for a neighbor child just days after Briggs underwent extensive surgery to remove his tumor.
But now, Salina said her husband actively seeks out opportunities to serve in that way.
"It's his chance to pay it back."
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