A Christmas Present To Top All Gifts

Diagnosed with acute myeloid blastic leukemia in 2020, AQHA Youth Haley Henry watched what she thought had been a perfect life of family, horses, and friends crumble.  She was given a 5% chance of survival.   Her heart flatlined in the hospital, and when she found out many of her friends from Riley Children’s Hospital had not survived cancer, she entered one of the darkest periods of her life.

That Christmas, her mom gifted her with a little Paint Horse named Eddie, who not only ended up being the friend she needed, but ultimately, the one who saved her life.  “If you told that sick little girl in the hospital in 2020 that she would be riding horses competitively and winning national titles, she wouldn’t have believed you,” says Haley, who now shows Invite Me For Koko on the AQHA circuit.

Read on for this amazing story of courage, faith, and the love of a horse by an unbelievably strong AQHYA member:

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A Christmas Present To Top All Gifts:  How a little Paint Horse named Eddie saved a precious life.

An EC Blog by Haley Henry

Hello! My name is Haley Henry, and I am 16 years old. I have been riding horses for going on 11 years, and I mainly show in the AQHA circuit. I was born into the home of agricultural parents, Tana and Chris Henry, who both were largely a part of the equestrian community, as well as my grandparents, Larry and Nancy Powell, who were judges for almost 50 years.

So, from the start I always had a strong starting place in the equestrian and AQHA Circuit. But I feel that in my story horses became much more than a pet but became one of the things that saved me.

In 2020, towards the beginning of COVID, I had been feeling quite sick to the point where I couldn’t ride, I couldn’t even get out of my bed without needing help or falling to the ground. It was the weakest that I’d ever been. It was also during the height of my competition career so that made it even more difficult to understand why God was doing this to me. I had considered my life to be “perfect”. The perfect family, life, horses, friends, and relationships. Isn’t it funny how God always teaches you something during those times of false perfection?

June 4th, 2020, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid blastic leukemia. This type of cancer is one of the most aggressive leukemias, and along with that, I had rare genetic markers that made it even more aggressive. I was given a 5% survival rate. This is where I had felt like the Lord had just given up on me. my faith began to bottom out, I felt like I was drowning and there was nothing to save me. For the next six months I was in Riley Children’s Hospital only allowed to see my mom and my sister. I underwent 4 rounds of intense chemo and a bone marrow transplant. There was one night that I distinctly remember was the turning point of my trust in the Lord. I had fallen asleep that night and had a dream that I was being attacked by a big red dragon, I was losing badly and didn’t know what to do. And then I saw someone ride out on a road of fire on a big White Horse who said, “Your story is not over yet; I’m not done with you.”

Then I woke up, and later found out that my heart had flatlined for a few seconds that night. This is when I knew I wasn’t alone. Even though it felt like I couldn’t recover and that a wouldn’t survive, God proved himself time and time again.

In late November I was discharged from the hospital but still given lots of restraints. I couldn’t do any sports, I couldn’t be outside in cold temperatures for long periods of time, and most of all I couldn’t get hurt. I had met a few patients like me, dealing with life threatening illness. We all connected and were able to help each other through tough procedures, difficult tests, and hospital days.

A few months after being discharged I found out that none of my cancer friends survived their battles. Many had passed due to a relapse which planted a new seed of fear in my heart. I fell into a phase of depression and PTSD. I felt truly alone. People said they understood, but they didn’t really know what I felt like. This was the darkest and most lonely I had every felt. I told my mom I needed a friend, although I didn’t clarify what type of friend.

That Christmas my mom gifted me with the thing that made me as strong as I am now. Eddie. He was a little paint quarter horse that my mom found online, when I first learned that my mom got me a horse for Christmas that year, I didn’t know what to think. I was honestly a little scared. But the more I got to know him the more I realized how much he loved me. Riding him and spending time with him built my strength both emotionally and physically. I didn’t feel lonely anymore, I felt free. Any restraints I had disappeared, and any sadness that overwhelmed me shrunk, even for a moment. I obviously still struggled with health and would get tired and worn out quickly, but Eddie always took care of me. It’s almost as if he knew that I was fighting something and wanted to help in any way he could.

I had him for almost a year until he passed away. He passed from multiple organ failure; I still wonder to this day if God had him pass as a way of showing me, I didn’t need him anymore. It was almost as if God was saying,” You’re on your own kid.”

I am now three years in maintenance; I am still healing but still riding horses competitively. And I have never been as strong as I am right now. I am now working to share my story through multiple social media platforms as well as currently writing a book.

Although my story wasn’t easy, I wouldn’t change it for the world. It has made me tougher, more patient, and more hardworking in my sport. I have been showing consistently since cancer and have accomplished more than I had ever dreamed possible. If you told that sick little girl in the hospital in 2020 that she would be riding horses competitively and winning national titles, she wouldn’t have believed you.

Telling this story now after my battle gives me a better perspective on how quickly life can change in an instant and how valuable time really is. My journey has pushed me to work harder, be more patient, and take life’s moments as they come.

My advice to someone going through their own trials would be this:

 

1- Take each obstacle as they come whether as an equestrian or in everyday life. If you look too far ahead, you’ll miss the memories and life right in front of you.

2- Take a deep breath and enjoy the stress, the business, and the craziness of life. Someday you’ll miss it.

3- Joshua 1:9 – “Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” I think that about sums it up 🙂