Late one night when I was a few weeks away from delivering my baby boy Jackson I couldn't sleep so I was scrolling on Instagram. I was on the Explore page and came across an image that immediately caught my eye. It was a picture of a baby boy laying in a hospital bed hooked up to cords. My heart sunk because no baby or child should have to go through chemo or be stuck in a hospital bed. As a mother I instantly felt sick for whoever the parents were of this sweet baby, that they had to watch their child suffer. I clicked on the image and found an Instagram account of a man named Steve. The baby in the image was his son, Hayes, who I learned was fighting a massive brain tumor and undergoing chemo. I spent that night scrolling back and reading each and every post, up until the most recent post - the photo of sweet Hayes laying in a hospital bed.
The next thing I knew it was morning. I had fallen asleep with my phone in my hand reading this family's story. Shortly after I had Jackson and got busy taking care of a newborn and a 16 month old. It rocked my world so all of my time went to my two babies. After several sleepless months I was scrolling on the Instagram Explore page again when I saw Hayes. I quickly clicked on the image; praying to find he had battled and defeated his cancer, praying that this family’s life was back to normal, praying that his mom didn’t have to bare the torture of seeing her baby suffer. As I read his mom, Savanna's Instagram I laid in bed sobbing. Her sweet Hayes had passed away in December. I was devastated. Drew was sleeping next to me and I had to get up and go to the other room so my sobbing wouldn’t wake him. For some reason their story just reached out and grabbed me! I remember praying that whole night for the Tate family, especially Savanna, to feel peace. I felt so heartbroken for her I didn’t even know what to do with myself and I couldn’t fall asleep. I knew I needed to do something for them so I laid in bed thinking of how I could help. Then it hit me! I DM'd her on Instagram and asked if she would want to design a dress and have the proceeds go to the Hayes Tough Foundation that she and her husband created in Hayes' honor. That’s where this all began and I feel honored to be apart of honoring Hayes and to help other families suffering from childhood cancer.
Please watch this video below to learn about sweet Hayes, his amazing mom Savanna that I've had the privilege of working with over the last few months, and about the Savanna Tate dress we designed together. This is not about the dress, it’s about Hayes and the Hayes Tough Foundation and helping others in need. By purchasing this dress you are getting something for yourself but you’re also giving money to an amazing cause. 100% of the proceeds of this dress will go to the Hayes Tough Foundation to help children who are suffering from cancer and their families. Childhood cancer is the number one cause of death for kids. More needs to be done for these children and their families who have to bare this devastating burden, so please take a moment to watch the video. You can also go here to help or donate anything (even just $10) to help these children and their families.
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