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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFollowing her surgery, Harper\u2019s 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\u00a0received 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo 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, \u2018You need to go back to St. Jude in Memphis, and we\u2019re going to start chemotherapy,\u2019\u201d Jillian said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harper bravely endured several rounds of chemotherapy. The community\u2019s prayers and support and the tireless efforts of the medical team eventually yielded a beacon of hope. Harper\u2019s tumors began to shrink, and after a steadfast battle spanning several months, she was declared tumor-free and in remission in December 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said, \u201cWe lived in Memphis for about six months. We were able to come home on some weekends or weekdays if how Harper\u2019s body was responding allowed us to, but it was relatively few and far between. The community was wildly supportive and prayed for her,\u201d said Jillian. \u201cWe 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\u2019ve been giving to St. Jude their whole life. And I said, \u2018Well, the money you\u2019ve sent to St. Jude saved Harper\u2019s life.\u2019 We didn\u2019t have to pay a dime. We weren\u2019t charged for medications or hospital stays, and we were given a place to live where we weren\u2019t 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\u00a0ours. St. Jude really is the best place on the planet for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During Harper\u2019s stay at St. Jude, the Bagleys entered the St. Jude Half Marathon as \u201cTeam 365 Run for St. Jude.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe 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, \u2018I\u2019m going to St. Jude. I\u2019m going to see all my people and make sure I\u2019m healthy.\u2019 She thinks of it as something special,\u201d said Jillian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jillian is a St. Jude spokesperson who shares their family\u2019s experience with others. Harper continues raising money for the research hospital and is working on her fourth fundraiser at her school. She\u2019s all in on St. Jude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSt. Jude is so fun, and I love going there. They saved my life and many other kids\u2019. St. Jude is the best!\u201d said Harper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harper\u2019s journey through adversity birthed a lifetime of gratitude for the St. Jude and Lincoln County communities. You don\u2019t have to wonder if your donations directly impact the families served. The Bagleys say wholeheartedly, \u201cIt does!\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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\u2019s arrival.\u00a0 But an ultrasound revealed something wasn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":21194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/fayetteville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/12\/1-1024x683.png\")
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