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Summer Camp Renews Hope For Young Hailey
 For
some kids, grade school is exciting. It’s a time to grow and learn; a
time to meet new people and make friends. For other kids, these years
are a challenge. They may struggle at learning new things and play alone
at recess.
Now imagine being diagnosed with a disease you can’t even pronounce,
let alone spell.
Hailey was only nine years old when she found out she had a brain
tumor. Doctors diagnosed young Hailey with medullablastoma, a
fast-growing cancer responsible for approximately 15 percent of all
childhood brain tumors. Up to 50 percent of such cases are cured by
surgery and radiation therapy. Sometimes chemotherapy is added to the
mix.
Hailey’s parents, Mike and Lisa, had to watch their daughter go
through all of that: surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Today, Hailey
is 13 and doing well. She is still dealing with some of the
after-effects from the treatments, but her cancer is gone.
“Sometimes it’s hard to keep hope,” says Hailey. “I kept hope because
God was with me.”
Striving to help kids like Hailey keep hope, the
American
Cancer Society Heartland Division (a
United Way of the Plains-funded agency) sets up Camp Hope each year.
Camp Hope is the American Cancer Society’s weeklong summer camp for
children ages 8 to 21 who have or have had cancer.
“Camp Hope means getting together with a lot of other people who
don’t think you’re weird,” says Hailey. “They’re different themselves.”
They are different simply because of having to face the rampages of
cancer at such young ages. For Hailey, this will be her fifth year at
Camp Hope, meeting new friends and swapping “war-stories” and tales of
victory.
“Camp Hope has helped me because I know that there are other kids out
there who have made it through,” says Hailey. “So I can, too.”
At Camp Hope, kids enjoy crafts, horseback riding, swimming, singing,
and all the other things that make summer camp fun. Even children
undergoing treatment attend camp since medical personnel are on hand
around the clock to administer treatments.
This year, Camp Hope celebrates its 21st anniversary of lifting the
spirits of Kansas’ youth. Thanks in part to donations to United Way,
Camp Hope is free to all attendees.
According to her mother, Lisa, Hailey has been presented with many
other opportunities – such as basketball and other summer camps – but
they conflicted with Camp Hope.
“Camp Hope comes before everything else with Hailey,” says Lisa.
“That’s how much it means to her.”
Call United Way of the Plains at 267-1321 to find out more about how your money is
helping our community. |
