NBC15 Poll
Is your company scaling down the holiday party?

Yes
No
We don't have one at all.


Hope for Hailey Save Email Print
Reporter: Dana Brueck
Email Address: dbrueck@nbc15.com

A | A | A

Posted Tuesday, April 15 --- 6:00pm

More than a dozen student organizations at U-W Whitewater have teamed up to help a two-year-old girl fight a common type of cancer in children.

UW-Whitewater student Carolyn Schweitzer is pushing strangers to help

"I'm really pushing this last week, too, to get as many donations... prizes," Schweitzer says.

Her push comes out of love for a 2-year-old little girl named Hailey Meltz.

Hailey suffers from a condition called pediatric low grade astrocytoma.

It's estimated more than 20-thousand children suffer from the type of brain tumor, with another thousand diagnosed with PLGA every year.

"Brain tumors are the number one cancer killer of children and number two overall, behind accidents, says Brian Meltz, Hailey's father.

Hailey's parents, Shannon and Brian Meltz regularly make the trip to American Family Children's Hospital for chemotherapy and an MRI every 20 weeks.

"You count for ten fingers, ten toes and you never dream that something like this is going to happen to them," says Shannon.

An MRI will tell the Meltz's whether the tumor behind Hailey's eyes is growing.

The tumor prevents Hailey from gaining signficiant weight.

The Meltzes say the condition is under-researched.

There is no cure, but the family has hope for Hailey.

"We're trying to raise money to privately fund research to advance this process, speed it up rapidly so in the next, say five years, we can have better treatments on the market that can help save our daughter and the thousands of kids and families out there like her," Brian says.

Meanwhile, Hailey's cousin is organizing a casino night fundraiser, gambling on the hope of winning the fight.

"I feel like this is finally like I know why I'm here, I found my passion... to bring hope to a little girl ... just to bring hope to all of these other children that are suffering from this, is a feeling I can't even explain truthfully, says Schwietzer.

This week... UW Whitewater is hosting two events to raise money for Hailey's cause.

A run-walk is on Thursday... then a casino night is on Saturday on campus.

INFORMATION:
The run-walk:
Registration 11:30 am
$10

The casino night:
6-8:15 pm Casino Night at the Hamilton Center
9-10 pm Comedian Al Goodwin
Tickets $25 by 4/18
$35 at the door

More Stories
Body, Vehicle Found in River

GRAY TELEVISION GROUP, INC. LEGAL TERMS FOR WEBSITE USAGE

Fire Damages McDonald's Restaurant

Carbon Monoxide Deaths: Mother Sues

AWOL Inmate

Sex Offender Missing

Nativity Lawsuit Dismissed

UPDATE: Hit and Run Investigation

Post Your Comments
First Name:
Location:
Enter Comments: characters left
Email (optional):
Email will not be displayed on site. For station contact purpose only.
Read Comments
Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.
Posted by: Carolyn Location: Appleton on Apr 27, 2008 at 11:02 PM
Hey Kristin- There was just a 5k run/walk in Menasha on Saturday. I apologize for not getting to you sooner about the event.

Posted by: Kristin Location: Menasha on Apr 24, 2008 at 11:39 AM
Are there any scheduled run/walks in the Neenah/Menasha/Oshkosh/Green Bay areas scheduled for Haley? If so, please let me know when and where. Regards, Kristin

Posted by: Carol Location: Stoughton on Apr 20, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Congratulations to UW-Whitewater AMA students for taking on this worthy cause and NBC15 for covering their efforts. Nice to see this kind of a news story. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Hailey.

Posted by: Brian Location: Whitewater on Apr 17, 2008 at 12:25 AM
Be sure to watch thr documentary about Hailey's story at http://orgs.uww.edu/ama/hopeforhailey.html

Posted by: Carolyn Location: Whitewater on Apr 16, 2008 at 07:42 PM
If you want more information, the link to our website is orgs.uww.edu/ama!!!

Posted by: D Location: Madison on Apr 16, 2008 at 11:22 AM
Kinda funny I dont see AMERICAN FAMILY helping these people out since the hospital is named after them, American Family ins has so STRANGE PEOPLE in personnel

AP Video