For the past two years, the holiday season hasn’t been very merry for the Rodenhiser family. Nine-year-old Hailey was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on Dec. 8, 2014. She spent most of that month, including Christmas, in the IWK hospital in Halifax, N.S. that year. Hailey also began her chemotherapy treatment at that time. Doctors expected her to be in remission within a month of her diagnosis and subsequent treatment but it took six months.
Two years later, Hailey is still undergoing chemotherapy treatment once a month, and taking different medications on a daily basis. She has been suffering from liver complications since the fall as a result of the chemotherapy. The young girl has been in and out of hospital and in and out of school for the past three months.
This year, Hailey’s mother, Jaunita Rodenhiser, is trying to change the tone of the holiday season for her daughter and for her family.
“It’s a tough time of year,” Rodenhiser told CTVNews.ca during a phone interview on Wednesday.
“It’s tough on everybody within the family.”
To turn the tide this year, Rodenhiser asked her friends on Facebook to send spirit-lifting Christmas cards to Hailey.
“Knowing how much Hailey loves getting mail, cards, and letters, one way that I know of to show her the spirit of Christmas is to request everyone send her a Christmas card and/or letter of inspiration,” she wrote in the post. “If you can do this I know it will bring a big smile to her face with each small envelope she receives.”
Rodenhiser said that Hailey always loved receiving mail and messages of support when she was staying in the hospital, especially ones that feature pictures of animals she loves, like horses, cats and dogs. Now, that she’s back at her home in Dayspring, N.S., Hailey still checks the mailbox for any mail addressed to her.
“She’s excited to get home and see what’s in the mailbox and to get up in the morning,” she said explaining that she noticed her daughter was struggling emotionally when she started having problems with her liver in the fall. That’s when she remembered Hailey’s love for Christmas cards and decided to make the public appeal on Facebook.
“I just had to do something to bring her around and get her smiling and get her cheerfulness back,” Rodenhiser said. “I thought it would be a nice way to lift her spirits and get her to realize that there are a lot of people that are rooting for her to get better.”
Social media has helped spread the message and Hailey has been receiving cards from supporters located all over the country. She said her daughter has been sent 24 cards so far, with more arriving daily. Rodenhiser said friends, family and strangers have been messaging her to let her know they’re sending more cards Hailey’s way.
“She just lights up. She grins. She smiles from ear to ear. She’s so excited to see how many cards she’s got and who they’re from,” Rodenhiser said. “She opens every one and reads them to us.”
Rodenhiser plans to string the cards up from the ceiling and hopes that, eventually, Hailey will have so many that she can jump into them as if they were a big pile of leaves.
Hailey doesn’t just like receiving cards, she also enjoys sending them. Rodenhiser said her daughter likes to make cards for others as well and even created a Christmas card for Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil after he visited her in the hospital in November.
If you would like to send Hailey a Christmas card or letter this year, send it to this address:
Hailey Rodenhiser
151 Hirtle Road
Dayspring, Nova Scotia
B4V 5R1
