Hope For Healing is an all ages fundraising event created to support Emma Haley and her family through music, fun and laughter!
**$20 or more in donations via our ticket link will be eligible for a door prize!**
Emma’s Story
Emma Haley is a bright, loving and vibrant little girl who unfortunately had to face a hard journey this year. On January 16, 2025, her mother took her to get checked out at Markham-Stouffville Hospital for some minor symptoms (a persistent fever and a couple mentions of a sore tummy). After a doctor assessed Emma, some tests were done and sadly, the results were not good. Devastating and shocking news was delivered to Emma’s mother. Three tumors were found in Emma’s left kidney and it was cancer. It’s called Wilms’ Tumor, also known as Nephroblastoma, and it affects 1 in 10,000 children. Emma’s mother was told that a specialist at SickKids had already been contacted and she was instructed to drive there immediately. Emma’s father raced from work to meet at SickKids after hearing the heartbreaking news. Emma was admitted upon arrival at SickKids Hospital and within 48 hours, she had received her first chemotherapy treatment.
Life changed overnight for the Haley family and Emma’s parents were forced to navigate something that is any parent’s worst nightmare. Emma’s big sister, Clara, also had to adapt quickly to this new and complex life where her parents had to be with Emma at the hospital often.
Emma had an entire SickKids team in the blink of an eye and had to face really big things as such a little person. The first few months of her journey were extremely hard. Emma had a port inserted a couple of weeks after her diagnosis and it was infected immediately, therefore she had to endure a 16 day hospital admission. Due to the infection, she was on strong antibiotics and also had to be put under (general anesthesia) every few days to clear the internal infection. Emma was put under 6 times within two weeks.
Due to the port being infected so quickly, Emma’s SickKids team consulted her parents and a PICC line was inserted in Emma’s arm that she would have there permanently for a little over half a year. Getting used to this medical device was challenging for a 4 and a half year old as you can imagine. Emma’s parents also needed to take an in-person course at SickKids regarding daily responsibilities they would have tending to the PICC line, which was obviously never the plan. Also, due to having a PICC line, it meant Emma needed to have a dressing and cap change for it every week at the hospital.
Emma spent months having to adjust to this new way of life with a prominent hospital presence. She also had to deal with the side effects of not feeling well after receiving chemotherapy treatments which was hard.
In late March, Emma had a major surgery to remove the tumors from her kidney which had thankfully shrunk a bit as a result of the chemotherapy treatment. The surgery was approximately 9 hours and she was admitted at the hospital for 8 nights. The road to recovery was a difficult rollercoaster after the surgery. Emma could not walk, she had various things attached to her and in her (a JP drain and a catheter to name a couple), she needed pain medication and she couldn’t have solid food for a few days. Emma continued to prove what a strong little girl she is and went from gradually starting to walk and eat again to riding a tricycle through the SickKids hallways within a handful of days.
After Emma recovered a bit more at home, she integrated back to school part-time and was able to return to dance classes. She continued to receive chemotherapy treatments and have weekly hospital visits (and sometimes more) but persevered through everything that came her way and demonstrated what it meant to be truly resilient, brave and strong. She was able to perform at her dance recital and was a little star on stage!
Some of Emma’s big SickKids days could be very long and taxing - she would leave her house with her parents at 8:00am and not return back home until 7:00pm. Emma also faced multiple infections along her journey regarding the skin around her PICC line and then the PICC line itself. The infections started in the spring and continued on and off throughout the summer. It was a very hard thing to manage. On top of that, Emma had some additional hospital admissions in the summer due to fever (as that is the protocol with chemo patients).
Overall, it’s obvious that Emma and her family have been through A LOT.
Emma completed her active treatment in August and rang her bell to celebrate that important milestone, but she and her family will still be very involved with SickKids. Emma will be there every 3 months for the next couple of years to start, with her parents hoping and praying for positive test results each time. Emma will continue to be followed and monitored by the same SickKids team for a long while and she is currently still on a medication for a few months to try and prevent serious illness.
Emma is such a beautiful little girl, and her resilience and perseverance through this journey is truly inspiring. Now, she and her family are in the healing stage and they need to navigate this “new normal” as they continue to pray for the best possible results moving forward.
Also check out other Nonprofit events in Ajax, Workshops in Ajax, Trips & Adventurous Activities in Ajax.
