Pictures: Hagen Hopkins
As Wellington musician Otis Hill vigorously fought the final stages of terminal cancer, supported by his loving parents, The Block NZ favourites Rachel Rasch-Hill and Tyson Hill, the 17-year-old learnt his beloved grandfather Otto Rasch also had stage-four cancer. He told his mother, “If we both die, at least we won’t be alone.”
Although the men were born decades apart, they passed away within days of each other in February. “Two amazing and massively strong men were gone from our family within two weeks,” shares Rachel, 48, whose son had a rare cancer known as desmoplastic small round cell tumours. “The day before Otis’ funeral, my brother asked Dad to hold on so we could spend time with him, and my father said, ‘No, no, I’ll go three days after Otis’ funeral’.”
On the morning of the kind-hearted, shy and witty teen’s farewell, Tyson drove the hearse to visit Rachel’s dad at Te Omanga Hospice in Lower Hutt. The 73-year-old placed a hand on his first grandson’s coffin and said, “Otie, thanks for 17 great years. I’ll see you soon.”
Three days later, Otto passed away from lung cancer.
“It was bang on seven in the morning and Dad had started work at seven every day since arriving in New Zealand from Samoa at 17, so he had work to do,” says Rachel, whose son was just five when she and Tyson starred on the first season of The Block NZ in 2012.
It was February 2022 when Rachel took Otis to the GP because he wasn’t feeling well. He’d also lost weight and had body aches. A scan showed a large mass in Otis’ abdomen, which turned out to be the rare cancer.
To the family’s devastation, it had spread to his pelvis, collarbone, peritoneum and liver. Doctors gave the history and space enthusiast just three months to live.
Otis, then 15, was a college kid known for his exceptional musical talent. He had started learning guitar just three years before.
“Within six months of teaching him the basics, Otis was already better than me!” enthuses tradie Tyson, 48, whose son, like him, appreciated all kinds of music. He could listen to a song and play it within a few hours.
“I’d sit and scratch my head, because his talent was far beyond anything I could’ve given him. He was magical in that way.”
In September last year, Otis’ band Bleeding Star came second at the New Zealand Smokefree Rockquest competition, and thanks to donations from a Givealittle page, he was also able to fulfill a dream of pressing his band’s album onto vinyl.
“That kid played live practically every weekend for two years. If he wasn’t playing in bars, he’d be in the studio,” recalls Tyson. He slept on a foldout sofa in Otis’ bedroom for months so he wasn’t alone.
“He’d do five days of chemo, hooked up for 18 hours each day. Then he’d walk out of hospital, have McDonald’s and play a live gig. Then the whole band would come back to our house.”
Towards the end of Otis’ battle, he had morphine before going on stage. His last two gigs in late December were done sitting on a chair.
Despite his illness, Otis packed life in, visiting Queenstown in winter with his family and two best friends, and enjoying a mansion staycation in picturesque Martinborough.
“Otis did so well for 16 months of his two years fighting cancer, but from August 2023, things started going downhill,” shares self-employed real estate agent Rachel, also mum to Isa, 11.
“His stomach grew, he got really skinny and his legs swelled. Tyson and I became his nurses, and I put in the lines where all Otis’ pain medication went.”
Thanks to the support of Rei Kōtuku, a paediatric palliative care charity in Wellington, the couple got through.
“I pre-made 20 syringes of medication each day to shoot into my son’s arm every couple of hours. I was dealing with pretty full-on drugs,” Rachel shares.
“Rei Kōtuku was incredible. I had them on speed dial to call any time of the night. I can’t imagine doing it without them.”
In late January this year, after an infection in his legs became unmanageable at home, Otis was taken to Te Omanga Hospice. The same place where his grandfather also spent his final days.
“It was horrible, but it also meant we could just be his parents for the end part,” tells Rachel, whose children shared a tight bond. “We shared a big bed, while Isa stayed with family.
“The last thing I said to Otis was he didn’t have to worry about his sister because we wouldn’t fall apart. We’d look after her. Then he felt OK to go.”
After Otis passed away on 12 February, he was taken home for five days. There, in accordance with his Samoan culture, he was never left alone. Family – including Rachel’s 62 first cousins – surrounded him with love, music and laughter.
Another glimmer amongst the grief was OtisFest, a music gig at San Fran in Wellington that included Otis’ favourite bands. The remembrance gig is set to run annually with funds raised going to Rei Kōtuku, which receives no government funding.
While Rachel hasn’t returned to work yet, Tyson’s preparing to launch a business in the trades that he started planning before Otis got sick. Along with support from loved ones around them, the couple credit their strong relationship for helping them stay afloat the past two years.
“I just love Tyson so much because he gave me Otis. Everything good about Otis is from his dad,” says Rachel. “We find any excuse to drop his name into conversation!”
Now, they’re planning a trip to Mexico for November, where they’ll stay with Tyson’s longtime friend and see pyramids. That was one of Otis’ dreams.
“Otis always said, ‘Don’t worry, Mum, I’m going to beat the cancer,’ and I felt guilty because I knew he wouldn’t,” Rachel admits. “But the day Otis passed, I told him, ‘You’ve beaten it. It might be killing your body, but you’ve beaten it every day because you’ve remained kind and haven’t let it kill your spirit’.”
“You don’t want to let your kids die, no matter how sick they are,” adds Tyson. He sits in Otis’ untouched bedroom most days to play his guitars. “But Rachel and I got to see Otis become a man and he became the most amazing man. He also became our best friend.”
To donate to Otis’ Givealittle page so his parents can continue to grieve without financial pressure, visit givealittle.co.nz/cause/otiss-fight-with-cancer.
To donate to Rei Kōtuku visit reikotuku.co.nz.
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