Finding Answers and Comfort

Thanks to her passion for basketball, 10-year-old Hailey Henry knows a thing or two about facing challenges and working through adversity. But when doctors discovered a brain tumor in June of 2024, the obstacles she faced were no longer on the court.

After playing a basketball game against tough opponents who were bigger and older than her, Hailey complained of a headache. Her mother, Miranda, noticed a knot forming, but assumed that like most childhood bumps and bruises, it would go away soon enough.

When the headache persisted after a few days, Miranda took her daughter to see their pediatrician, who referred them to a pediatric
neurologist near their home in East Tennessee. Two MRIs later, the family received the news no family is ever prepared to hear: Hailey had a brain tumor.

At that point, with only basic information, Miranda sprang into action, talking to friends and researching options for Hailey. It didn’t take long before she was referred to Le Bonheur and Neuroscience Institute Co-Director Paul Klimo, MD.

“Hailey absolutely loves him,” Miranda said of Klimo. “We think the world of him, and I’d drive a hundred hours to make sure he was treating Hailey.”

While they don’t have to drive a hundred hours to Le Bonheur, Miranda and Hailey do drive about 450 miles for each trip, which means they need lodging while in Memphis. FedExFamilyHouse offers them comfort while in town for Hailey’s appointments, as well as relieving the financial and logistical burden that comes along with traveling.

FedExFamilyHouse is a home-away-from-home for patients and their families when they travel from out of town for appointments and procedures at Le Bonheur. The facility has 75 rooms and suites for families to comfortably stay near the hospital, free of charge.

After additional testing and appointments, doctors initially suspected Hailey had a
papilloma choroid plexus tumor, a benign tumor that would require surgery. However, during that surgery Dr. Klimo immediately realized that was not what they were dealing with. As hard as it was to fathom, it would take even more tests and research to determine exactly what Hailey was battling.

Eventually doctors were confident in the diagnosis — Hailey had a subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA), a rare, genetic, benign
brain tumor that occurs in the fluid-filled spaces of the brain. While treatable, this type of tumor is not curable, and it can potentially come back and affect different organs in her body.

While this has been a wild ride, the family is thankful for every blessing — beginning with that bump on her head after the ballgame. That tough game and subsequent headache led to her diagnosis, saving Hailey’s life.

Time after time, Hailey proves to be a trooper, and the family is thankful for the support from Le Bonheur every step of the way. Miranda will never forget Hailey’s face when she returned to her hospital room one day the week after surgery to find basketball decorations, balloons and gifts to celebrate her birthday. No little girl wants to spend her 10th birthday in the hospital, but Le Bonheur nurses made sure it was a special day filled with smiles and happy memories.

Post-surgery, Hailey is under the care of five doctors, and she’ll have regular scans to catch any new tumors as quickly as possible. While they don’t yet know how often scans will be required, Miranda and Hailey do know these trips to Le Bonheur will be comfortable and home-like thanks to FedExFamilyHouse.

“It was amazing to be so close and shuttled back and forth the week of Hailey’s surgery,” said Miranda. “The staff at FedExFamilyHouse are amazing and sweet, and it was so nice to have a comfortable place to stay.”

Hailey dreams of returning to the court, but for now, her priority is healing and following the instructions of her doctors. The family doesn’t know what the future holds for Hailey, but they do know everyone at Le Bonheur and FedExFamilyHouse will be in their corner.