Hailey Davidson has my total admiration and respect. She is not only a very tough young lady but she also is one of the most humble and classiest young adults I have ever heard or read about.
Haley has fought cancer not once but now twice. While it is quite common for cancer victims to suffer from a relapse of their cancer, Hailey is just 17 years old. She was in remission for almost a year when her mother noticed Hailey checking out her leg during church.
"Hailey Davidson, 17, is pretty happy just to put in a day at school.
“I don’t want a special diploma. My goal is to graduate on time with everyone else,” she said after classes one afternoon at Pendleton High School.
Davidson, a junior, was in a Portland hospital last week for another round of chemotherapy. But she was energetic two days later, talking about her plans for education and how much she misses sports.
The Pendleton native was first diagnosed with the bone cancer Ewing’s sarcoma on Aug. 12, 2009 — her birthday.
“I was a softball catcher, and I noticed my knee hurt, and I thought it was just because I do squats a lot,” she said. “But it started to hurt so bad I was crying, and I do not cry.”
After multiple hospital visits, a doctor finally diagnosed her. The cancer is most commonly found in teenage boys.
Read the rest below from the Bend Bulletin.
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| Haley Davidson works on an assignment in her careers class at Pendleton High School |
Pendleton student deals with cancer for 2nd time
By Kate Whittle / East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Hailey Davidson, 17, is pretty happy just to put in a day at school.
“I don’t want a special diploma. My goal is to graduate on time with everyone else,” she said after classes one afternoon at Pendleton High School.
Davidson, a junior, was in a Portland hospital last week for another round of chemotherapy. But she was energetic two days later, talking about her plans for education and how much she misses sports.
The Pendleton native was first diagnosed with the bone cancer Ewing’s sarcoma on Aug. 12, 2009 — her birthday.
“I was a softball catcher, and I noticed my knee hurt, and I thought it was just because I do squats a lot,” she said. “But it started to hurt so bad I was crying, and I do not cry.”
After multiple hospital visits, a doctor finally diagnosed her. The cancer is most commonly found in teenage boys.
Doctors removed the tumor in her right leg and replaced most of her femur and hip bone with metal. After a round of chemo, Davidson’s cancer went into remission for nearly a year.
In May, her mother noticed her feeling her leg in church. “It wasn’t the metal hurting, it was the tumor,” she said.
After another operation to remove a new growth and insert part of her back muscle into her leg, Davidson was up and walking around. She hopes this second round of chemo will be the last, because she has big plans.
She’d like to go on to college and become a chemo nurse.
“I guess I hate it when people say, ‘I know what you’re going through,’” she said. “I can help people because I really have gone through it.”
Davidson is grateful to her family, friends and everyone at Pendleton High School for their support.
A recent Pendleton Rhythmic Mode Dance Team donut fundraiser deposited $2,300 in Davidson’s medical account, coach Debbie Kishpaugh said.
“We didn’t take out any ads or anything like that. Just talking to people in the community, word of mouth,” she said.
Davidson’s counselor at Pendleton High School is amazed at her determination. Davidson takes online classes to keep up with her credits when she’s not healthy enough to be in school, and while she could opt for a special modified diploma with an easier course load, she wants to get the standard diploma and graduate on time.
“I believe she’s going to be walking with her class next year. She has such an ‘I can do it’ attitude,” counselor Karen Demaniew said.
One creative way Davidson is earning work experience is through the hours she spends in the hospital.
“It’s not the way you want to get it, but it’s making the most of her situation,” Demaniew said.
“And consider all the things she’s seen,” Demaniew said. “She’s had friends who had the same thing who’ve already passed away. To think you’d want to work in that field ...”
Davidson’s advice to others going through rough times is to make the best of it.
“Don’t sit at home,” she said. “Do everything you want to. Don’t hold back.”
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