A 17-year-old from the small Habersham County town of Mount Airy stood on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Sunday as the Atlanta Falcons' honorary captain, capping a three-day sports experience arranged while he undergoes chemotherapy and palliative care for metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma for a second time. Riley Hembree's weekend included a locked-down team store shopping spree, a seat in the Arthur Blank Suite, and a signed jersey from running back Bijan Robinson.
The trip was organized by Dream On 3, a Charlotte, North Carolina nonprofit, along with the Falcons and local partners, according to FOX 5 Atlanta, which gathered its account from a Dream On 3 press release and the Falcons organization. Dream On 3 was founded in 2012 to grant sports-themed experiences to young people ages 5 to 21 living with chronic illnesses, developmental disabilities, or other life-altering conditions, according to background reported by Inside UNC Charlotte.
Hembree's itinerary began at the Falcons' training facility in Flowery Branch, where he toured the complex, watched team walkthroughs, and met head coach Kevin Stefanski. He also broke down the team huddle during that visit, the station's report notes. Former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan introduced himself to Hembree during the weekend as well.
Game Day at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
On game day, Hembree received early stadium access and was recognized on the Halo Board, the stadium's continuous 360-degree HD video display, as the Falcons' honorary captain in front of the crowd. Arthur Blank met Hembree that day, and the teen's family watched the Falcons face the Carolina Panthers from Blank's suite.
Before kickoff, Hembree met Bijan Robinson, handing him a childhood cancer awareness bracelet that Robinson wore during the game. Robinson also signed Hembree's jersey and wrote him a personal message, the report states.
Lodging and a Private Shopping Spree
Hembree also received a private shopping spree at the closed Falcons team store, according to the same report. His family stayed at Lanier Islands Resort, a 1,500-acre lakeside property in Buford along Lake Lanier that donated lodging, meals and activities for the trip, per PRLog.
Mount Airy itself is a small municipality in Habersham County with an estimated population of roughly 1,400 to 1,500 residents, according to data cited by the U.S. Census Bureau. The town sits in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Chattahoochee National Forest, a rural backdrop far removed from the downtown Atlanta stadium where Hembree spent his game-day afternoon.
A Second Fight and a Life Beyond Treatment
Officials have not released Hembree's long-term prognosis or further details about his medical timeline, the FOX 5 Atlanta report notes. Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma is an aggressive subtype of soft-tissue sarcoma that predominantly affects adolescents, and patients with metastatic or recurrent disease face significantly lower long-term survival rates than those with localized tumors, according to research published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Rhabdomyosarcoma overall is the most common soft-tissue sarcoma in children, per the American Cancer Society.
Between medical appointments, Hembree sings with his church worship team and plays Madden on Xbox, and he follows Falcons players Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Jessie Bates III. His weekend arrived during September's nationwide designation as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a period that includes fundraising efforts, according to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
