EVERYTHING WAS ready for her. Gifts from friends and family contributed to the completion of the lovingly decorated nursery. Dresser drawers were filled with gowns and outfits, and the rocking chair sat ready for feedings and snuggles. Owen and Jillian Bagley were counting the days until baby Harper’s arrival.
But an ultrasound revealed something wasn’t right during the final week of Jillian’s pregnancy in 2013. Routine ultrasound examinations showed no complications until a follow-up visit at 39 weeks. The medical team discovered what appeared to be a cyst on Harper’s ovary, urging Jillian to deliver at Huntsville Hospital, equipped with a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as a precaution. The morning after Harper’s birth, and after a whirlwind of ultrasounds and MRI scans, the doctor advised the couple of a sizable mass in Harper’s stomach requiring immediate action, leaving the family grappling with the realization that their newborn was facing a medical crisis of extraordinary proportions.
“Within an hour of them bringing her back [from the MRI and ultrasound], there was an oncologist from St. Jude [Children’s Research Hospital] in the room with us,” said Jillian. “They were telling us that she needed to go for emergency surgery right away. It all happened within 12 hours of her being born.”
Harper underwent surgery to remove a baseball-sized tumor attached to her adrenal gland. The period that followed was filled with uncertainty as the family faced the diagnosis of congenital cystic neuroblastoma, an extremely rare condition. At the time, Harper’s case marked only the 25th reported instance, signifying the tumor’s growth during her time in utero.

Following her surgery, Harper’s recovery in the NICU marked the start of a challenging period for the Bagley family. Harper was transferred to St. Jude in Memphis, where she spent a week for tests, scans, and evaluations. The family received word of the best possible outcome: the surgery was successful in removing all of the tumor, and it had not spread. She was released and scheduled to return to the Huntsville St. Jude Clinic in two weeks for a checkup.
“So we went home, and we thought we were on the road to getting back to normal first-baby, stay-at-home things. We went for the checkup when she was 4 weeks old, and they did an ultrasound on her abdomen and found more tumors in her liver than they could count. At that appointment, we were told she had relapsed, and it had metastasized. They said, ‘You need to go back to St. Jude in Memphis, and we’re going to start chemotherapy,’” Jillian said.
Harper bravely endured several rounds of chemotherapy. The community’s prayers and support and the tireless efforts of the medical team eventually yielded a beacon of hope. Harper’s tumors began to shrink, and after a steadfast battle spanning several months, she was declared tumor-free and in remission in December 2014.
She said, “We lived in Memphis for about six months. We were able to come home on some weekends or weekdays if how Harper’s body was responding allowed us to, but it was relatively few and far between. The community was wildly supportive and prayed for her,” said Jillian. “We had people from all walks of life, whether it was Fayetteville, people we went to college with, or friends from Chicago where I grew up saying they’ve been giving to St. Jude their whole life. And I said, ‘Well, the money you’ve sent to St. Jude saved Harper’s life.’ We didn’t have to pay a dime. We weren’t charged for medications or hospital stays, and we were given a place to live where we weren’t charged. That was all because all of those people had donated. I met a lot of families, and I saw a lot of stories like ours. St. Jude really is the best place on the planet for us.”

During Harper’s stay at St. Jude, the Bagleys entered the St. Jude Half Marathon as “Team 365 Run for St. Jude.” They encouraged friends, family, and the community to contribute a dollar a day, which snowballed into an extraordinary fundraising effort that generated over $100,000. It was a full-circle opportunity to give back to the St. Jude community that so fully supported Harper throughout her cancer journey.
Now in her 10th year in remission, Harper has no memory of her treatments at St. Jude, and her ongoing follow-up appointments are something she highly anticipates.
“We get to see a lot of our friends, all of her old nurses, and the doctor who was responsible for her chemo administration, and we try to make it more fun than scary. Harper thinks St. Jude is fun and tells her friends, ‘I’m going to St. Jude. I’m going to see all my people and make sure I’m healthy.’ She thinks of it as something special,” said Jillian.
Jillian is a St. Jude spokesperson who shares their family’s experience with others. Harper continues raising money for the research hospital and is working on her fourth fundraiser at her school. She’s all in on St. Jude.
“St. Jude is so fun, and I love going there. They saved my life and many other kids’. St. Jude is the best!” said Harper.
Harper’s journey through adversity birthed a lifetime of gratitude for the St. Jude and Lincoln County communities. You don’t have to wonder if your donations directly impact the families served. The Bagleys say wholeheartedly, “It does!” GN