A family’s battle to overcome cancer

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Aubrey White
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  "On October 17, 2012, my life changed. My husband's life changed. Our family's lives changed," said Haleigh Wilhide, spouse of Tech. Sgt. Randy Wilhide, 4th Equipment Maintenance Squadron assistant NCO in-charge of precision-guided munitions. "Our precious Piper (Wilhide) was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. We quickly absorbed that Piper wasn't the only one with cancer; this disease was going to affect and change all of our lives. The battle had begun."

The Wilhides stood at the front lines, prepared to combat the disease as a family although they were unsure of the adversities they'd soon face.

According to the National Cancer Institute, Neuroblastoma is a disease in which cancer cells form in nerve tissue of the adrenal gland, neck, chest or spinal cord. In Piper's case, a tumor was growing out of her spine and pushing against her heart.

The family was devastated by the news.

"The hard part was to see someone so helpless going through all this and not being able to do anything about it," Randy said. "As a mother and father, you want to do everything for your child, but when something like this happens it's out of your hands. We just had to learn how to cope with it and make sure she got through this as easy as possible."

Although watching Piper endure more than five rounds of chemotherapy and a surgery was difficult for the family, they say she was always happy and hardly seemed affected by the treatments.

Because Piper needed around-the-clock care, Haleigh was fired from her job and the family went from depending on two incomes to one; another obstacle which the family had to conquer.

While both parents cared for Piper, Randy also stepped into the mother and father roles for their other daughter, 4-year-old Conleigh. He did his best to ensure Conleigh's life was affected as little as possible, aside from the regular trips to visit Piper at the hospital and missing out on countless holiday and birthday gatherings.

Randy had to learn how to better balance family and work-life. Luckily, members of his unit stood behind him, offering an immense amount of support along the way.

"We received emotional support from our Air Force family," Randy said. "My shop picked up a lot of the things I was doing (while my family and I stayed at the hospital), and the first sergeant visited us several times. Everyone was real supportive. Every time we did (fundraisers) that involved Piper and the community, I always had guys from work out there and they always helped me."

With the backing of their Air Force family, members of the local community and their strength as a family unit, the Wilhides came out on top to defeat the disease after seven months and Piper is currently in remission.

Two days after being cleared from the hospital, Piper's grandmother gifted the family with a trip to Walt Disney World where she and her sister Conleigh had the opportunity to experience life outside of the hospital's walls.

Although she is still very young and may not remember the trip, Randy says it was remarkable watching Piper simply take in the scenery. It was the first step to her "new norm;" enjoying life as a healthy toddler.

"Trying to play catch-up is rough but it's amazing to see Piper crawling and taking her first steps," Randy said. "She's everywhere, exploring everything like a normal kid, like nothing was wrong."

In order to thank all for their support in the Wilhides' time of need, the family would like to eventually have their own non-profit organization with proceeds benefitting families in similar circumstances.