Listen to a sermon given on 12/9/09 by Cheryl at Harvest Community Church.
Haley was a normal healthy child until January 27, 2001. She was 7 years old and suddenly she was critically ill. After several frantic weeks of testing, Haley was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH). A year later she was diagnosed with pediatric lupus (SLE). It is extremely rare to have this combination of illnesses, and it was a challenge to find effective treatment for her. Although her disease process slowed, nothing seemed to put her into remission. In 2004, she was placed on the waiting list for a liver transplant.
In January, 2005 she had a brain bleed and was made inactive on the list. In July, 2005 she was cleared to be re-listed, but sadly, on October 1st, 2005, Haley died.
During her 5 years of illness, she coped by writing songs about her liver disease. Soon, she was writing songs for other ill children as well. We recorded her song on CD’s and gave them away by the hundreds. Haley took every opportunity given to her to sing at various events to raise money for The American Liver Foundation, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta”. But, what Haley enjoyed even more, was helping the kids by just trying to brighten their days. Along with Lisa Hawk, another “liver mom”, the three of us began Miracle Mail. And to honor Haley’s life and her compassion for these children, we have started The Haley Vincent Foundation. As a foundation, we have 4 goals.
- "Miracle Mail" Care packages sent to children with chronic illness, especially those enduring long hospitalizations. We include a few toiletries for the parents and a few age appropriate toys for the children.
- "Lyrics for Life" Haley's 6 song CD, along with an age appropriate CD player for every child eligible for a solid organ transplant.
- "Angel Hugs" A willow tree Angel of remembrance and two books are sent to those families whose children die. We will take referrals at any time
- A yearly memorial gift to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
To read more about Haley’s medical journey you can visit her Caring Bridge site. To view recent changes to this site, click the Recent Changes link on the left. For questions about The Haley Vincent Foundation, please send us an email. You can also light a candle in Haley's memory.
