A 10-year-old girl with childhood cancer that impresses a billionaire… Wear prosthetic feet and fly in space

A girl who was diagnosed with bone cancer (bone tumor) as a child and gave up her dream of’space flight’ is diagnosed with a cure after tearful efforts. Twenty years later, the girl becomes a medical practitioner and returns to the hospital where she treated her. This is to take care of childhood cancer patients who are in the same situation as they used to be.

And a billionaire who is fascinated by his story eventually makes his dream of space travel come true.

The protagonist of this fairytale-like story is in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, caring for pediatric cancer patients. Haley Arceno(29)..

The St. Jude Children’s Hospital, where he works, announced on the 22nd (local time) that “Arceno has been included in the crew of the’Inspiration 4’project as medical director.”

Inspiration 4Is the founder of’Shift 4 Payment’, an American billionaire and payment processing company. This is a private space tour promoted by Jared I. Jackman (38). We are planning to go out into space by borrowing Crew Dragon, a manned spacecraft from space X, a private spacecraft company. For the first time in history, a civilian-only crew will travel beyond the atmosphere on a rocket made by a private company.

Following the record of being the youngest astronaut and the first private space traveler medical officer, Arseno also set a record as’the first person to go to space with a prosthetic leg’. This is because a titanium prosthesis was planted in the knee at the time of fighting the bone tumor.

Space flight, which has to endure extreme conditions, has been the exclusive possession of healthy people selected by NASA. That’s why Arceno’s challenge is even more meaningful.

Jackman said, “I wanted to include someone on the crew who could give a message of hope with life on Earth.”He explained the reason for choosing Arceno.

Growing up in a small town in Louisiana, Arseno toured NASA in Houston when he was nine years old. It is said that a 9-year-old girl and his 7-year-old younger brother were completely enchanted by space when they visited it on a family vacation. It is said that it was from then on that Arceno began to develop his dream of becoming an astronaut.

But a few months later, at the age of 10, Arceno began to feel pain in his left leg. It was around the time I was learning Taekwondo, so my family thought it was due to vigorous exercise. But the symptoms got worse. And Arceno was diagnosed with a shocking diagnosis of osteosarcoma of the left femur.

That’s how the disease life began. Arceno was admitted to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis to undergo chemotherapy along with knee bone surgery. Dr. Michael Neal, who was in charge of Arseno, recalled the time, “The treatment process was complicated because the tumor was located in a dangerous place.” Because the tumor spread from the tip of the thigh bone to the knee joint, it could have hurt the growth plate.

During the surgery, Arceno removed part of the thigh bone and had to endure 12 chemotherapy sessions.

After that, a long rehabilitation treatment was waiting. It is said that despite the unbearable pain, he gripped his teeth and clung to exercise therapy. Sometimes I wore a NASA t-shirt to build up my will.

To the hospital family who treated themselves

After a tearful effort, Arceno was finally cured the following year. Then I realized a new dream. He made up his mind to become a medical practitioner helping children with cancer in the hospital that healed him.

And I returned to the hospital after 20 years. He became a member of the St. Jude Children’s Hospital as a paramedician (PA) who diagnoses the patient’s condition and prescribes medicine on behalf of the doctor. They encourage children in despair to say, “I have cancer and I know how it feels. Illness will make you more like you and stronger.”

“It is difficult for cancer patients to dream of the future,” said Arceno, who eventually achieved his childhood dream of space flight. “I want to show other cancer survivors and childhood cancer patients that there are no limits.”

Jackman plans to announce two additional companions, excluding himself and Arceno. The remaining two positions will be filled with one of the donors at St. Jude Children’s Hospital and one of his company, Shift 4 Payment customers.

The four crew members will be trained on spacecraft operations for several months and then board SpaceX’s spacecraft at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in October.

Reporter Jeong Eun-hye [email protected]