Well tonight we gave out 5 more "Hailey's Halos!" What a beautiful way to start a Christmas week, that would otherwise be quite difficult. First, before I tell you about the families, I want to extend a special thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who have helped to make these opportunities possible. We could never do this on our own. It is all because of your generous donations, participation in Hailey's race, support, and prayers that we have been able to touch these peoples lives. May God bless you and your families for your continued love and compassion in honor of our precious Hailey.
(I am going to keep the names of these families anonymous for their own privacy, however they have all agreed to share their stories and pictures on Hailey's Foundation website! You can find the link on the right hand side of my blog.)
The first family we "haloed" has 4 children. Their second child is a 5 year old little girl who found out 2 weeks after her 5th birthday that she had bone cancer in one of her legs. Although the doctors ended up having to amputate her leg, she has been an amazing inspiration to her family. Her spirit has not wavered and her mom even said that she's been trying to do cartwheels. We happened to call at the perfect time because they currently have a leak in their house that desperately needs to be fixed, but they couldn't afford it due to medical expenses. It was such an honor to be able to give them some money to help out and also acknowledge their faith and strength! They were so grateful and will hopefully have a wonderful Christmas!
The second halo was given to a single mom who has a daughter with Trisomy 18. Apparently, she was not supposed to survive past the age of 1, but is still living and thriving at the age of 5. She was nominated by her daughter's paternal grandmother because her son (the father of the little girl) has chosen to walk away from the situation. This grandmother continues to support her grandson and his mother in the best way she can, but unfortunately they are both dealing with some major financial struggles. The mother was devastated that she couldn't afford to give her precious child a Christmas. She was so thrilled and grateful to have received this Halo!!
The third family has a child who has many health struggles. He was in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy for three hours a week until their insurance copay became beyond what they could afford. This situation is one that's dear to my heart because Hailey was in 5 hours of therapy a week, which drastically changed her life and gave her the ability to do so many things she would have struggled with. Unfortunately, this precious little boy hasn't been to therapy is several months now due to the financial strain it has put on the family. They were so surprised and honored to have been nominated and chosen to receive a halo!
Next on our list was a little girl, age 2, with brain cancer. Unfortunately, the type of cancer she has is wrapped around her brain stem, inoperable, and incurable. The doctor told her family there was nothing more they could do and that they should go home and enjoy every moment with their little girl. As her mother started researching the cancer online, she found a doctor in Texas that does alternative medicine and was able to cure several children of "incurable" cancer. Of course, insurance didn't pay a dime of it, so the family pooled together everything they had and ventured forward in the journey. As of now, their daughter is symptom free!!! Their one dream is to take her to Disneyland, which they posted on their blog. When we talked to the mother she was telling us how she just put the entire trip on her credit card and was going to deal with it later. Well, later actually came sooner because we were able to help her pay that trip off and make her dream come true!! She just cried and thanked us over and over. It was such a beautiful experience.
Our last halo was to a family who had a son born 70 days early. He was still in the NICU fighting for his life when they were nominated, but upon talking with the family we learned that he passed away a few days ago. This was a tough call because the emotions were still so painful and raw. They originally said they felt that they shouldn't accept the donation because their son was no longer here, but of course we insisted. They were so touched and with tears flowing we were grateful to hopefully give them one tiny moment of joy this Christmas season.
The choice Sean and I made to start this foundation in Hailey's honor has been one of the best decisions we've ever made in our lives. Although at times its painful, and I wish we never had to take this road, it has also been full of miracles, joys, and healing. We are so blessed to have such supportive and compassionate people in our lives to help make this foundation a reality. And again, I'll never say it enough, thank you so much to all of you!!!!
You and your family never cease to amaze me. These are truly amazing and inspiring stories. Not only does it make me happy that these people are getting the help they deserve but getting it from you, and even better in the name of your little Hailey. It's so heart warming to know that even after the worst tradgity you are not only pulling through but doing it so gracefully, above and beyond. I'm at a loss with words to describe how i feel. I know the pain will always remain, and I am so sorry for that. But just remeber what you already know and have faith in God and Jesus. My prayers continue to stay with you, always. Not only are you changing the lives of the people you help but your story helps soooooo many others. I'm so gratful to have met you :)
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