When Hadley started getting sick more frequently, her parents chalked it up to having recently started daycare.
Her doctor did some bloodwork, and within fifteen minutes they had a referral and would be going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Hadley had acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer.
"As a 2-year-old, your child should have problems that you can still fix," said Hadley's mother, Brittany. "You should be putting Band-Aids on scraped knees and kissing boo-boos and wiping tears over silly things, not cancer."
Although it was terrifying, St. Jude was a nearly immediate comfort to the family.
You’d think it would be a bunch of sad people and just a terrible place to be, but that’s not what it’s like here.
St. Jude has helped push the childhood cancer survival rate from 20% when we opened to 80% today. We won’t stop until no child dies from cancer.
Hadley was placed on chemotherapy, and turned 3 years old during treatment. But despite this difficult undertaking, Hadley’s maintained a brave outlook.
I can't tell you how many times she's caught me crying and told me, ‘Mom, don't worry, it's going to be okay.’
Hadley is a chatty tot and “a little firecracker,” according to her dad.
She loves music, animals, colors, and singing and dancing. She also loves the beach.
She recently “graduated preschool” and picked up a new hobby: dirt bikes.
“My heart stops when she rides it, but she does love it!” says her mom. “I mean, YOLO, right?”
As of June 2020, Hadley has been in remission for two years.
When they look back on this difficult time, Hadley’s parents will remember St. Jude as a special place.
These halls are filled with more hope than I could ever describe.
Meet more patients
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Meet Alejandro
Ines and Alejandro think of their son Alejandro every day. Their active and curious boy would have been near adulthood by now. They honor his memory through their commitment to St. Jude. Read more here.
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Meet Camila
Camila was diagnosed three days before her 3rd birthday with a solid cancerous tumor of the kidney. Read her story.
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Meet Avery
Avery was diagnosed with sickle cell disease soon after birth and she received a bone marrow transplant at St. Jude in early 2023. Her donor was one of her older sisters.
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Meet Misheel
Misheel was diagnosed with brain cancer and was referred to St. Jude, where she has received treatment, which included chemotherapy and radiation therapy. She has refused to let her illness keep her from spreading joy to others.
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Meet Janelle
When Janelle was just over a year old, her family noticed that she began to regress in her development. Medical tests revealed that Janelle had cancer.
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Meet Yazleemar
Yazleemar is an outgoing and expressive teenager. In 2012, Yazleemar was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare cancer. St. Jude offered more than treatment to her and her family.
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Meet Gideon
After Gideon was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma, he was referred to St. Jude for immediate treatment.
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Meet Felicity
With a diagnosis of 5 tumors in her brain and spine, Felicity is facing a struggle, but you wouldn't know it by the constant smile on her face.
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Meet Charlie
Diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in his shoulder, Charlie was referred to St. Jude then underwent chemotherapy and surgery to replace a cancerous bone with titanium.
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Meet Ava
At 6 years old, Ava had a lump on her neck and tests showed she had more lumps in her belly. Tests revealed that she had a cancerous tumor and was referred to St. Jude.
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Meet Kamryn
At 2 years old, Kamryn's bloodwork indicated he had a form of blood cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Doctors referred him to St. Jude where he would undergo more than 2 years of chemotherapy while growing to love activities like Music Therapy.
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Meet Luxe
As a kindergartener, Luxe’s legs became so covered in bruises that her parents took her to the doctor. Luxe was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia.
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Meet Eliza
Eliza’s pediatrician referred her to an ophthalmologist after testing her eyes. In turn, she was referred to St. Jude as a tumor was visible in her right eye.
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Meet Rinoa
Rinoa had an MRI due to headaches and, later, double vision. Doctors found a cancerous brain tumor called medulloblastoma and was soon referred to St. Jude.
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Meet Adalyn
Adalyn had stomachaches that came and went with episodes of severe pain. At the ER, doctors found a large mass above her kidney, stage-4 high-risk neuroblastoma.
Hadley with her parents
