Earlier this year, we had the pleasure of photographing Make-A-Wish warrior princess Hailey as she fought DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma), a brain tumor that’s inoperable, highly aggressive, and difficult to treat.
Just last week we heard the difficult news, Hailey’s fight had ended on Friday morning, September 24th. Hailey’s mom wrote: “Heaven gained the sweetest, sassiest, and most beautiful warrior princess this morning at 6:00 am. Hailey fought the hardest and most unfair fight for the last 17.5 months, without ever asking why.”
She was diagnosed in April 2020, right after she turned three years old.
Hailey endured 11 MRIs, one port surgery, two radiation simulation studies, two CT radiation scans, 40 radiation sessions, two extended hospitalizations for c-diff, and more blood draws and Covid tests than her parents can count. She had also been sedated more than 50 times since diagnosis prior to each radiation treatment and MRI.
If you’re moved just as much as I was about Hailey’s story, please consider supporting her family through her Go Fund Me page, and please keep her family in your prayers.
Since Hailey had been through so much, it was particularly special for me to capture these precious moments with her and her family. We had a wonderful beach session, and I couldn’t be happier with how the photos turned out.
Hailey was such a star, inside and out. She will never be forgotten.
On the night you were born, the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind whispered. “Life will never be the same.” -Nancy Tillman