On a frosty December evening in Leesport, Iron Man, Scarlett Witch, Harley Quinn, Black Widow and Captain America stood huddled around the warmth of a propane heat lamp set up outside the Union Fire Company.<\/p>\n
The crowds that filed past the impressive scene Saturday scarcely seemed to notice. Some offered a smile or small chuckle, while others simply nodded in recognition.<\/p>\n
There were no shouts of excitement. There were no hugs or high-fives. There was no begging for photos.<\/p>\n
They weren\u2019t the heroes people had come to see.<\/p>\n
![\"Guests](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/REG-L-VeryRileyChristmas-04.jpg\")
Guests at Very Riley Christmas, a superhero-themed Christmas party held at Union Fire Company in Leesport on Saturday in honor of Riley Rejniak, are decked out in hero costumes. The 13-year-old Riley has been battling cancer since he was in kindergarten. (DAVID MEKEEL – READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
They were there to see the quiet kid, the timid kid sitting on a black, leather sofa tucked away in the corner of the fire station. The one who typically answers questions from strangers with a short \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d \u2014 unless those queries happen to be about video games, of course.<\/p>\n
They were there to see the kid who loves to read, the one whose father describes him as \u201csweet\u201d and usually prefers tranquility over excitement. The kid who never puts himself before others.<\/p>\n
They were there to see Riley Rejniak.<\/p>\n
So they lined up, patiently waiting for their chance to spend a few moments with Riley. To share a brief chat, to steal a quick hug, to pose for a photo.<\/p>\n
For a quiet kid, it was a lot to handle. But Riley did, gracefully and joyfully.<\/p>\n
A red cape hanging from his neck and an oxygen tube resting below his nose, the 13-year-old smiled and waved as he greeted person after person.<\/p>\n
![\"Riley](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/REG-L-VeryRileyChristmas-02.jpg\")
Riley Rejniak rests on a sofa in between chatting with guests at A Very Riley Christmas, a superhero-themed Christmas party held at Union Fire Company in Leesport on Saturday in his honor. The 13-year-old has been battling cancer since he was in kindergarten. (DAVID MEKEEL – READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure his blood pressure is a little elevated,\u201d his dad, Greg, said. \u201cBut he really wanted to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
So much so, in fact, that the day before he made a back-up plan, just in case. On Friday Riley was still a patient at Hershey Medical Center, receiving treatment for the cancer he was diagnosed with as a kindergartner.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me he was going to break out if he had to to make sure he would make it here,\u201d Greg said.<\/p>\n
After all, what would A Very Riley Christmas be without its namesake?<\/p>\n
A Very Riley Christmas was a benefit for the Riley Rejniak Supplemental Needs Trust, which provides funding for Riley and his family for expenses related to the battle with stage four neuroblastoma he has been fighting for years.<\/p>\n
Recently, they\u2019ve received difficult news about that battle.<\/p>\n
His father said Saturday that Riley has suffered a relapse, the fourth since his original diagnosis. This time around the cancer is resistant to chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
It has caused him to have problems regulating his blood pressure and for fluid to fill his lungs. He was released from the hospital in home hospice care.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been pretty devastating this week, his body is just shutting down,\u201d his dad said. \u201cI can\u2019t even explain how we\u2019re feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amid the dark times, Greg said, Saturday\u2019s event \u2014 which combined Riley\u2019s love for superheroes with holiday cheer \u2014 was a bright light.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis community is incredibly heartwarming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Organizing and holding the party was a no-brainer for those who know Riley.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know he\u2019s had a terribly difficult year,\u201d said Melissa Engleman, chair of the trust and an organizer of the event. \u201cSo we wanted to make his Christmas special and do something to support his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/REG-L-VeryRileyChristmas-01.jpg\")
A superhero-themed Christmas party was held at Union Fire Company in Leesport on Saturday in honor of Riley Rejniak, 13, who has been battling cancer since he was in kindergarten. (DAVID MEKEEL – READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
Engleman said picking a theme for the event was also easy. Riley has always loved superheroes, particularly Spider-Man.<\/p>\n
So with Christmas just around the corner, it made sense to mix a couple of genres.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuperheroes and Santa \u2014 that makes it very Riley,\u201d Engelman said.<\/p>\n
Greg said he appreciated the idea, saying it was a perfect fit for his son.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s my superhero,\u201d he said. \u201cHe is my absolute best friend, I love that kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greg said he feels lucky to have been able to see Riley grow into a teenager and marveled at the person he\u2019s become. He\u2019s caring, he\u2019s brave, he\u2019s incredibly strong.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough all of his struggles, he\u2019s never worried about himself,\u201d Greg said. \u201cHe has said to me that he\u2019d rather have cancer than anyone else he knows have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when they found lesions on his brain and he was crying, it was only because I was crying and he didn\u2019t want to see me upset,\u201d he added, tears forming in his reddening eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t deserve him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a frosty December evening in Leesport, Iron Man, Scarlett Witch, Harley Quinn, Black Widow and Captain America…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,182,139,28,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-63555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}