From Soccer Field to St. Jude: Hailey’s Journey
In July 2019, Hailey Stymus was a joyful 5-year-old enjoying a Rochester, New York, summer before starting kindergarten. But one day during practice, she suddenly couldn’t see the ball and ran into a fence.
What seemed like a simple accident turned out to be a life-changing moment: Hailey was diagnosed with a craniopharyngioma, a rare brain tumor affecting her eyesight.
Emergency Surgery and the Search for Safer Treatment
Hailey underwent emergency brain surgery to drain the tumor and radiation to prevent it from growing.
Her family learned about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, which offered a proton therapy study — a safer form of radiation not available locally in New York…