On July 12, 2012, 13-year-old Haylee was playing in the pool with her dad. He threw a ball to Haylee and she missed it, laughing. When asked how she missed it, Haylee replied, “I can’t see out of my left eye.” Stunned, her parents called the local eye doctor who ran some tests and sent the family to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Through an MRI on July 13, doctors found a tumor in Haylee’s left orbital that had wrapped itself around her optic nerve, and was growing along the back of her brain. According to Haylee’s mom “This news was so hard to comprehend, especially because Haylee appeared healthy.” Haylee regularly played softball, and was a cheerleader at her Junior High – your typical everyday teen. Haylee’s family was familiar with cancer, as her mom had been battling Non-Hodgkins t-cell lymphoma for nine years prior to Haylee’s diagnosis. 

On July 17th, Haylee had surgery to remove the tumor. Unfortunately, it was deemed inoperable. Haylee’s team of doctors then decided to schedule Haylee for daily radiation treatments for the next six weeks, requiring her family to drive 208 miles a day to and from the Children’s Hospital. Eventually, due to Haylee’s side effects from the radiation, her family decided they would need to stay in a hotel near the hospital after raditation appointments. With the help of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, Haylee’s family was able to stay in a local hotel. 

As explained by Haylee’s mom, “We are so thankful to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s for helping us with hotel stays. We are proud people, who work hard and have insurance and try to do everything the right way, but there is just no way to be prepared for the financial strain something like this can do to you. Although we had been through cancer treatment before (for me), when it’s your child you need every form of support you can get. We can’t express how much Alex's Lemonade Stand’s support through gas cards and hotel stays have done for us.  There’s no time to plan or schedule something like this – it’s immediate. We had less than 18 hours to start this journey and without help from your organization, I don’t know what we would have done”.
 
July 13th 2015 will be Haylee's three year anniversary from when she was diagnosed . Currently, Haylee is 16 ! She just recently got her driver’s license, and will be a junior in high school in the fall. She is the junior class president, and a varsity football cheerleader. Her brain tumor is considered stable for the moment, although she has experienced some debilitating long-term efects. Her vision in her left eye is 90 % blocked from the tumor wrapping itself around her optical nerve; She has had to develop new ways of learning, and managing fatigue . Haylee continues to attend regular doctor’s apointmetns and tests to monitor her progress. Haylee’s family writes that they are truly thankful for Haylee’s team of doctors at Cincinatti Children’s Hospital, organizations like Alex’s Lemonade Stand foundation, and the staff and cheer coaches at Greenville High school. Haylee’s family also relies on their strong support network of family and friends, and hope to someday be able to help other children and families in the fight against childhood cancer. 

Quotes: 

“Cancer is not something you get over, or walk away unchanged no matter what your child's end result is; It will forever change you and your family. Find all the small blessings in your journey and whenever possible pay it forward.” 

“Thank you to all the people that serve Alex's Lemonade Stand and all of the contributors.  It’s a very dark time in your life when you have to see your child go through something like this, so when outside people send some relief it’s like a little bit of sunshine is shining through and it gives you strength to continue the battle.”

Information provided by Ronda Hanes, Haylee’s Mother
Updated:  July 2015