Recent Gordon Lee Memorial High School graduate Anna Haney, left, is shown around time of graduation, and later battling cancer.How to Help Haney
Search for “Anna’s Medical Fund” on GoFundMe.com or visit gofundme.com/xjme5mvw. Donations are needed and accepted through the page. A Facebook page gives updates on Habey and other fundraisers in her benefit. To learn more, search “Anna Haney Support Page: Hearts and Hands for Anna” on Facebook.
Like most high school graduates, 19-year-old Anna Haney is in the prime of her life. However, in the fall of 2015, she noticed discomfort in her right leg and then it began to swell. Despite the obstacle, she was happy last Christmas when she accepted a proposal from her fiance, Patrick Green.
Green said his new fiancee's cancer journey began Jan. 7. She has already gone through multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, and is scheduled for more chemotherapy at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where she has been for nearly two months. Prior to that, she was being treated at Erlanger.
"Anna, I believe, just wants to marry the love of her life that is supporting her so unselfishly and lovingly and stick around for her family and friends who love her so dearly," said family friend Joshua Hutcherson. "She wants to bring hope for those whose hope seems bleak, and her journey is just beginning. In my opinion, no one knows what tomorrow may bring, just that we all must have faith that God has a plan and it's a miracle we even exist. Without hardship, how can we appreciate beauty?"
Green served for two years in the U.S. Army. Due to an injury in Iraq in his right leg, he had to learn to walk again. He thinks it is interesting that his fiancee is also dealing with an issue with her right leg that will involve her learning to walk again.
Green met Haney through his younger sister, Summer Knight, Haney's best friend.
"We have a GoFundMe page for Anna called Anna's GoFundMe Page by Tom Lee," said Green. "She has malignant peripheral nerve sheath, a rare type of cancer. It started as a peanut size at Thanksgiving and grew to the size of a football in her leg. She's wheelchair-bound right now and can't walk. Erlanger talked about amputation, but MD Anderson thinks they can save her leg."
The surgery will be scheduled four to six weeks after the last round of chemotherapy. After the cancer is removed, surgeons plan to take muscle strands from her stomach and rear to fill in holes in her right leg. She will lose 40 to 60 percent of her inner-thigh muscle. Doctors have already told her not to work for a year and a half following the surgery; her rehabilitation is expected to take a long time.
"She went from weighing 119 pounds to 86 pounds," Green said. "We could be here for six months or longer in Houston. We pray it's shorter. There's a 40 percent chance the cancer could return once it's removed."
He said Haney's goal is to be able to walk down the aisle to marry him.
"I will never leave her side," he said. "It's our testimony. I'm here until the end. I don't care if we go in debt. I'll pay off bills the rest of my life. I drive or fly to Houston every three and a half weeks to see Anna. We were at the hospital until 3 a.m. last night while she was getting a blood transfusion."
Her father Rusty Haney stays with her 24/7, he added.
"We hope people keep her in their prayers to keep her strong mentally and physically," said Green. "We have hope and we know that we can beat this. We don't want to give up. It can happen to anybody. Anna wants to beat it and motivate someone else to beat it later."