I used to be preoccupied with the little things: What should we have for dinner" Did the kids take their vitamins" What colour should I dye my hair" That all just fell away, after my 13-year-old daughter, Haylee, got sick. All I cared about was her getting better. Instead of focusing on how sad it was for her to lose her beautiful long, dark-blonde wavy hair during chemotherapy, I threw my energy into finding ways for her to have fun, because this was where life had taken us.
We had a head-shaving party in Haylee?s hospital room, shortly after her hair started falling out in chunks. Haylee?s best friend, Hannah, and her cousin, Brandon, were among the guests, and the three kids all shaved their heads together. We were making so much noise that the nurses came in to see what all the laughter was about. A few days later, I took Haylee shopping for wigs. Just as if we were on a typical trip to the mall, for a cute new bathing suit or something, I brought her all different kinds of wigs to try?first some that looked like her natural hair, then red ones, curly ones, shoulder length ones with bangs. She settled on a short, dark style?just for a change. I took photos of almost every look and she?s smiling in all the pictures. Those aren?t memories I ever imagined I?d be making with Haylee. Kids are not supposed to get cancer.
Haylee and Carrie on a family vacation in Mexico. Photo Courtesy: Carrie Wall
In the spring of 2013, Haylee started complaining about a sore k...