When Dan Quaglieri was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma while he was in 8th grade, all he wanted to do was get on his four-wheeler.
Spending all of his time in the hospital during the week for treatments was driving him a little stir crazy. To him, the sound of the engine of a four-wheeler meant happiness. When he asked Make-A-Wish if he could have a four-wheeler, though, he was told no. At that moment, he decided to try and make it easier for other children going through cancer and begin offering them four-wheel rides.
“When I went through Make-A-Wish and they gave me my wish, I wanted a four-wheeler to go four-wheeling, but they couldn’t give me a four-wheeler,” said Quaglieri, a resident of Latham. “That’s pretty much the stuff I live for. So when I went to Hawaii on my Make-A-Wish trip, my family and I tried to think of ways to make it so kids could go four-wheeling and enjoy themselves if that was their wish.”
His mother, Judy Quaglieri, said you forget about all of your troubles when you go out four-wheeling. Anything that went wrong at work or any worries about what bills have to be paid goes right out the window while out on the trails, she said.
So for the past four years, the Quaglieri family started the not-for-profit foundation called 4 Wheeling for Healing and has been offering families around New York State the opportunity to go four-wheeling. Even though it is Dan and his father driving the vehicles, children still are afforded the chance to forget about their illnesses and go out on the trails with them.
The length of the ride depends on the child’s ability to ride. Depending on their illness, Judy said the child will go on an hour long trip through the trails. She said even though some of the children don’t show their excitement vocally, many of them enjoy the ride.
“One girl wasn’t vocal but would give the thumbs up,” she said. “And one guy would keep putting his thumbs up, up and up. The kids just communicate as to how much fun they’re having. Most rides will go for an hour or two and then we supply the lunch.”
The participating families meet the Quaglieri’s out in Nassau where the trails are. If the families are local then they can follow the Quaglieri’s to the trails. They’ll even reach out to other four-wheeling clubs in the state and ask if people can ride with them. This can require some networking, Judy said.
The Quaglieri’s have done that by attending many other charitable events. They will sometimes help out at the event or just let people know that their organization exists. For the 5K Run for Huntington’s Disease in Guilderland, the family will go out and hand water to the runners either while they are running or when they finish the race. Judy said they will also pick up anyone having trouble walking up the hilly terrain to the race. They’ll drive up in their four-wheeler, offer them a ride, strap them in and give them a helmet
Dan said he feels great about the people they have been able to help. It makes it even more special that a family out in California had hear about what they’ve been doing and asked if they could participate. The family contacted companies out in California to make sure the family was able to experience a four-wheel ride.
“It puts smiles on their faces,” Dan said. “If the kid is into off-roading and they have fun, then that’s all I hope to really get out of it. I want to make sure they have fun and enjoy themselves.”