Little Hailey Kent (18 months) was diagnosed with a very rare and very aggressive
form of Leukemia when she was just 4 months old. The infant version of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (or ALL) is extremely
rare - only 1 in 19 million babies get it! Since being diagnosed Hailey has spent most of her young life in the
hospital undergoing very aggressive chemotherapy and having several blood transfusions to fight the cancer and help save
her life. This past Spring, Hailey was blessed enough to receive a stem cell transplant from an anonymous donor. Without
the transplant Hailey would never have made it this far, though she is far from being out of the woods. Sadly, Hailey's doctors
have said that she only has a 30-40% chance of surviving beyond 5 years old. Not good odds, but we're all hoping and praying
for much more!!
After spending many, many months in the hospital, Hailey was finally able
to join her family again in her home in Simi Valley, California. Although everyone is elated that Hailey is back home she
has to be kept in complete isolation (only being allowed to leave her house to go to the hospital for check-ups!). Her family
has been struggling financially to pay off Hailey's enormous medical bills and at the same time keep up with their regular
bills.
Being that Hailey has been so sick and also has a twin brother, her mom
has had to stay at home with them full time so her father is the only one bringing in any income. To top things off, Hailey's
father was recently hospitalized for what they believe was a mild heart attack. Maria (Hailey's mom) has mentioned on a few
occasions about needing to buy a new house eventually. The Kents are currently renting their home and while it is by
no means in shambles, they do need something better - especially for Hailey. This is where Hailey spends 24/7 of her time
and it could potentially be a life or death situation for her. The stem cell transplant that Hailey received last spring has
left her immune system very weak and virtually non-existent, so she is extremely susceptible to germs, viruses, and bacteria...
all of these things live in our houses and has virtually no effect on us. But with Hailey, one little cold could kill her.
One of the ways to help protect Hailey from these potentially lethal things is to guard her surroundings. Although the
Kents have done the best with what they have, their house can probably never can be 100% suitable for Hailey. It is an
older home, and therefore already contains germs and whatnot... no matter how often is cleaned. They are desperately
in need of a HEPA filter that could filter out all of the "bad" air through out their entire house. Right now they
only have a few very small filters in the rooms Hailey spends the most time in. Unfortunately, because they rent their
home, even if they did have the money for a HEPA filter, they have been told that installing one would not be possible because
it would be a permanent change to the house. Hailey is also starting to move around a lot now and will definitely need
special help as she grows older. Right now she has a physical therapist that comes in a few times a week and they work together
in the Kents tiny living room.
We believe
that if enough people get together to help this very deserving family we can make their dreams come true and provide them
with a home that will be a much safer and healthier living environment for Hailey and her family. We are contacting Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition for their help, but can't do it without all of YOU. Please click
Not only could the Kents possibly get a new, much safer house out of this
but it could spread the word out about the form of Leukemia Hailey has and the need for people to become blood and bone marrow
donors - which is something I know is very important to the Kents to get out there!
**In order to make
this project as successful as possible we will be launching a "Kick- Off- Date" for everyone to start sending in letters,
emails or any other sort of communication to get the attention of those at ABC and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
This will also give us some time to send in the submission video and give everyone time to write their letters and help us
come up with some creative ideas to spread the word. The "Kick-Off- Date" will be Monday, January 28th, 2008. Start writing
those letters today so they are ready! :) **
