Bone Cancer Survivor Going into Space - Hayley Arceneaux

 

THE GREATER THE OBSTACLE, THE MORE GLORY IN  

                        OVERCOMING IT.”  

-      celebrated French writer Moliere.

 

Amid the distressing news of deaths and disaster, of floods and fires, of power failures and engine failures, two wonderful stories floated to the surface of the news recently.

On Tuesday, February 16, 2021, ABC News reported that Victoria Glosson of Oakridge, North Carolina, had just received her nursing degree. She would soon be “on the front lines helping others.”

Not a big deal you might say. Be patient! Please wait for the rest of the story. To Victoria it was a big deal because she had overcome cancer.

“This was such a long battle for me (against Hodgkin’s lymphoma) I could not believe we finally got to the end of it, I had to go through so much.”  she told “World News Tonight.”

Her battle against the disease went on for a year and a half she said. “The Neulasta shots after chemotherapy hurt, but I was determined to get through,” she said.  And she did!

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Most of us have heard of or seen advertisements about St. Jude’s Hospital - the hospital that treats children with life threatening diseases like cancer at no cost to their families and research cures.

Max Garland, writes in USA Today, that a current employee (hired last spring) who, as a former patient beat bone cancer, will become the youngest American in Space when she blasts off this fall.

The person is 29 year old Hayley Arceneaux. She is to be part of the world’s first all-civilian crew to space. She will also be the first person with a prosthesis to go into orbit, on this private space flight, according to St. Jude. Hayley will serve as the medical officer for the crew.

Jared Isaacman, an experienced jet pilot and founder and CEO of “Shift4Payments” is the commander of the mission. He is rated to fly commercial and military aircraft.

Jared has pledged to raise $200 million for St. Jude (half of the amount will be his own contribution)

The other two crew members have not yet been named. They will be selected in March.

Isaacman “flies fighter jets for a hobby”. He considers Hayley to be a perfect fit for the project because of her incredibly powerful story and her family’s aerospace background, says Marcia Dunn AP Aerospace writer.

The mission will be called Inspiration4. The main goal is to raise funds for and increase greater awareness of St. Jude’s.

When Hayley was 10 years old St. Jude treated her for bone cancer. In addition to chemotherapy for one year most of the bone that was affected was replaced by a prosthetic devise.

She did not want to leave the place at the end of the treatment. “I am going to come back and work here,” she said.

In early January, Hayley who “is a lifelong space fan” was offered the seat on the spacecraft. Her mother, brother, and sister-in-law were all positive about the possibility of the trip when she discussed it with them..

Hayley Arceneaux and Jared Isaacman represent hope and leadership two of the four mission pillars of St. Jude. The other two members of the crew, to be selected in March will represent the St. Jude mission pillars of generosity and prosperity. Training for the mission crew will begin in March. Launch will be off the coast of Florida.

               

#spaceex #cancer #nasa #elonmusk #StJude #stjudeschildrensresearchhospita                  ===000===