There is so much more to Hayleigh than childhood cancer…
Please give today to help a child like Hayleigh with serious illness rediscover that same joy and confidence.
There is so much more to Hayleigh than childhood cancer…
Please give today to help a child like Hayleigh with serious illness rediscover that same joy and confidence.
The shock of diagnosis
Hayleigh and her identical twin sister Hannah had just turned seven when their family received the devastating news that Hayleigh had a mass on both of her kidneys. Just 48 hours earlier, they had been birthday toy shopping.
Her diagnosis was kidney cancer – bilateral Wilms tumours. For her parents, Leanne and Kevin, everything changed almost overnight. While Hayleigh began a long course of treatment, the family could only think about getting through the summer and making it to Christmas.
There is so much no one tells you about cancer, especially childhood cancer, including how hard it is to watch your loved ones worry and hurt.
The early days of treatment
Looking back, Leanne and Kevin can connect the dots they simply couldn’t see then. Everything had seemed like the normal things that come with childhood, until one day Hayleigh developed the smallest lump on her tummy. She was taken to be checked and, before they knew it, was being rushed to Dublin in an ambulance.
Hayleigh’s treatment began with six weeks of chemotherapy, followed by a week for her body to rest, then another six weeks of chemotherapy before surgery on both kidneys. While her siblings were getting ready for school, Hayleigh was having a central intravenous line put in for the long treatment.
Their first stay in hospital lasted eleven days. During those long, hard days, the invitation to Barretstown came and was a blessing for the whole family.
“That first camp showed us just how much people who give donations can make possible at Barretstown” -Leanne, Hayleigh’s Mum
Their first Barretstown camp
Hayleigh was just two months into chemotherapy when the family came to Barretstown for their first family weekend. They were heartsick and exhausted, and the treatment had taken its toll. Hayleigh had lost weight, lost her hair and, as her dad Kevin put it, she had lost her “lust for life.”
At Barretstown, the family discovered that they didn’t have to wait for everything to be better before they could feel joy again. When they accidentally left one of Hayleigh’s medicines behind, the Med Shed team made sure the right medicine was waiting for them when they returned to their cottage.
The Med Shed is staffed by a dedicated, highly specialised medical team, providing the care and support Hayleigh and her family needed so that they could focus on being together as a family.
A place where they felt supported
From the moment the family drove through the gates, they were greeted and cared for, with someone always there to answer questions and look out for them. For Leanne and Kevin, being protected and connected to other people who understood what they were going through was incredibly important.
Childhood cancer can be a lonely road, and it can feel like everything has changed. At Barretstown, Hayleigh, Hannah and Jack found a place where they could simply be themselves again – laughing, having fun and enjoying time together as a family.
Hayleigh’s cancer surgery took all of her right kidney and a portion of her left. She will now be monitored and have regular scans for years to come, but her family knows that the experience at Barretstown has changed all three children.
Finding courage in new adventures
At Barretstown, Jack, Hannah and Hayleigh each found something that felt just right for them. Jack discovered a love of archery, Hannah took to horse-riding and Hayleigh found the courage to go ziplining, climb the climbing wall and create masterpieces in the arts room.
For Hayleigh, it was a chance to have adventures again after cancer and treatment had taken so much. For all three children, it was also about spending time with other children and siblings who understood what it was like to have cancer in the family, and meeting families living through something difficult of their own.
Leanne and Kevin have seen a deeper sense of care and compassion in all three children – qualities they hope they will keep for life.
The kindness that stays with them
Hayleigh has now finished her last chemotherapy treatment and is beginning school with no hair and looking different to how she was. But the kindness shown to her family through Barretstown continues beyond their time at camp.
For Hayleigh and Hannah, Barretstown’s Outreach Team visited their classroom to help their friends understand what the girls were going through and explain more about Hayleigh’s treatment. The team also gave their classmates the opportunity to ask questions, helping them understand how they could support the girls.
For the Price family, Barretstown has been there through diagnosis, treatment and the return to school. Their experience shows how Barretstown can reach further than a family might imagine, helping a child with cancer and their family through what comes next.