A DIFFERENT JOURNEY OF HOPE

A Legacy Of Brotherhood Among The 2013 North Route Team

by Rachel Greene

IN 2013, KYLE ROTH, Delta Eta (Morehead State), participated in Journey of Hope as a crew member and historian for the North Route team. Since that experience 10 years ago, he and many of his teammates from the cross-country journey have remained in touch by staying active in the group chat, attending each other’s weddings or planning their recent 10-year reunion. In the years immediately following the trip, visits were frequent, especially for Roth and the other members of the team, that were able to meet up for hikes and bike rides in California, where he and many of his teammates lived at the time. Six of his teammates came to his wedding, and he has been to several weddings of his teammates as well.

Since serving as a crew member on Journey of Hope in 2013, Roth achieved his goal of becoming a traveling nurse, met his future wife, moved to Phoenix with her, relocated to Idaho and welcomed two daughters. His life was going as planned until his health began rapidly deteriorating in 2022. After weeks of unexplained weight loss, trouble eating or keeping food down, he scheduled an endoscopy. Before that could even take place, he collapsed while doing yard work. After being rushed to get medical attention, his doctors ran a CT scan that revealed the cause of his issues. Roth, who had been healthy just a few months prior, now had a large tumor on his spleen that was squeezing his stomach and blocking food absorption. Over the course of the next 10 months, he endured surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments to fight a rare form of lymphoma. “It was kind of like a blur. Ten months sounds like a long time, but it didn’t feel like that,” said Roth. His family shaped how he dealt with the diagnosis, and he said that having kids made his fight even more important. “I want to be there for them and watch them grow up.”

Shortly after his diagnosis, Roth answered a call from Colin Schwartz, Alpha Delta (Washington) a teammate from the Journey of Hope who had taken a similar career path and was reaching out to share the good news that he’d received a job offer. This exciting news was, of course, followed by Roth disclosing his cancer diagnosis. With his permission, Schwartz shared the diagnosis with the rest of their teammates. Soon afterward, Roth felt his teammates from 10 years ago rally behind him, so united that it felt as if they were on the Journey of Hope route all together again, but on a different journey now, with a different hope.

His Journey of Hope teammate Michael Brooks, Beta Nu (Houston), cycled the route and was a member of van number five, the van Roth drove, affectionately called “cinco de van-o” by the cyclists. Each cyclist on the trip was assigned a van and, therefore, a member of the crew whom they would spend time with any time they had to rack on the road, conditions became dangerous or driving was essential. Because Roth drove his van, Brooks was able to get a closer glimpse of Roth’s personality, which was hidden behind a quiet sort of shyness, than most of their teammates outside the van. Brooks shared a fond memory that he knows the whole team recalls, saying, “Kyle earned the nickname ‘Wild Thing’ during a Friendship Visit where there was karaoke, and his shyness completely went away while singing the song ‘Wild Thing’ by Tone Loc. It just made everyone laugh and created a nickname that stuck.” The team went as far as to get Roth a t-shirt with his nickname on it during the trip, and he still proudly claims the nickname to this day.

After learning of their teammate’s diagnosis, the 2013 Journey of Hope team followed along with each treatment, waiting for news. While they waited, several of them called him regularly to check in and even sent care packages for him curated by the whole team, doing anything they felt they could do to help out in their brother’s time of need.

While no one would choose to be diagnosed with cancer or face an illness this grave, Roth has chosen to look for a silver lining in his experience. “I learned to be grateful for all the time I have on this earth. Even if those times are difficult, I am always grateful because that’s time I almost didn’t have.” In addition to a newfound gratitude for life, he has gained an appreciation for brotherhood. From the very beginning of his fight, he knew he would always have his brothers by his side. While it may not have seemed urgent for the team to reconnect before his diagnosis, one of their own being faced with mortality reminded them that time is precious and tomorrow is never guaranteed. Now, they share in Roth’s gratitude for life and collectively recognize that life, and the time they share with one another, is precious.

To the team, Roth’s illness was a reminder that the time to reconnect is now, even if it has been years, because life can change in an instant.

In his professional life, Roth is no longer a travel nurse, but still works in the nursing field doing something he feels is even more valuable: teaching others. With each student he is able to teach, he feels he is making a difference in their lives as well as the many future patients they will each treat, patients going through difficult battles like his own. “At the end of the day, I want to be remembered as somebody who was dedicated to bettering the world,” said Roth. “I can do that through my family, teaching my students and my friendships. My Journey of Hope team was able to do that through their dedication to me, each other and the community we’ve created.”

Roth has been in remission for a few months now. All indications show that the treatments have been effective. While there is a chance that his cancer will return while he is in remission, he is hopeful that he will be lucky enough to reach the milestone of seven years with no recurrence, when he can officially be declared cancer free. No matter what happens, he knows he will have his family, and his Journey of Hope teammates, standing by his side.