The child cancer survivor who will be the youngest American to travel to space
Hayley Arceneaux, 29, will be the youngest American to travel into space. She is a medical assistant at a hospital specializing in childhood cancer
American Hayley Arceneaux was 10 years old when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. After a long treatment, which included chemotherapy and surgery, she not only healed the disease, but also discovered her vocation: helping other children in the same situation.
Today, at 29, Arceneaux works as a medical assistant and treats children with leukemia and lymphoma at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, the same one where she was admitted as a child.
With her overcoming history, Arceneaux was chosen to represent the hospital on a space mission scheduled for the last quarter of this year, the first in which none of the crew will be a professional astronaut. She will become the youngest American to travel to space.
The surprise of having been chosen for the vacancy, which was reserved for a health professional who represented hope, was accompanied by excitement at the challenge.
Arceneaux and three other crew members are expected to take off from Complex 39 launching the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on board the Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX, an Elon Musk company. They will orbit the Earth for three days in the Dragon capsule before re-entering the Earth's atmosphere and landing on the US coast.
The space mission will be commanded by billionaire Jared Isaacman and will be the first in which none of the crew is a professional astronaut
Crew
The mission will be led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, 38, who is the founder and chief executive of the integrated payment processing technology company Shift4 Payments. He is also an experienced pilot, with flights from both commercial and military aircraft.
Isaacman bought the four seats on board the mission, named Inspiration4 (Inspiration4) and which, according to him, will be based on four pillars: leadership, hope, generosity and prosperity. He will occupy one of the vacancies and offer the other three free of charge.
"Inspiration4 is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream and a step towards a future in which anyone can venture out and explore the stars," says Isaacman.
The vacancy for which Arceneaux was nominated, which symbolizes hope, was reserved for a medical professional chosen by St. Jude. Isaacman has allocated a second slot to St. Jude, which will be filled by the winner of a drawing in a fundraising campaign for the hospital.
The businessman expects to raise US $ 200 million (about R $ 1.15 billion) for the hospital, which is recognized for research on childhood cancer and offers treatment, travel, accommodation and free food to families who cannot afford it. Isaacman himself pledged to donate US $ 100 million (about R $ 576 million).
The fourth spot will be filled by the winner of a competition between entrepreneurs using the new e-commerce platform Shift4Shop, which is part of Isaacman's company. The selection will be made by an independent panel of judges.
At 10, Arceneaux was diagnosed with bone cancer. Long-term treatment included chemotherapy and surgery
Diagnosis and treatment
Arceneaux believes that her experience as a cancer survivor will help her prepare for the challenges of the mission.
"(The disease) taught me to expect the unexpected and move on. I also think that having cancer made me more resistant," he says.
She says that, at the age of 10, she was training to receive the black belt in taekwondo when one of her knees started to hurt. The school doctor said it could be a sprain.
But months later, when the girl was limping, her mother, Colleen, suspected that the problem was more serious. Colleen says he panicked when he saw a tumor "the size of an egg" above the inside of his daughter's knee.
Tests revealed that it was osteosarcoma. Arceneaux had to be admitted and started chemotherapy.
Surgery to remove the tumor also removed much of the femur, and the girl received an implant with metal nails in her leg. With that, Arceneaux will also be the first person with a prosthesis to travel into space.
She went through months of physical therapy until she was able to walk again on her own. While still in hospital, she became a kind of ambassador for St. Jude, sharing her story with other child patients and publicizing the hospital's research work.
After being discharged, Arceneaux returned several times to St. Jude, initially as a patient, for follow-up appointments and, in 2013, as an intern in the Pediatric Oncology Education program. She graduated in 2016 and went on to work as a medical assistant.
"I think knowing that I am also a survivor helps families (of children with cancer)," he says.
Arceneaux has already visited the SpaceX complex in California, where he visited the facilities and had his measurements taken for the space suit.
Preparation
Arceneaux loves to travel. She has toured several countries and had the objective of getting to know all the continents before turning 30 years old.
But the young woman who had visited NASA with her family and dreamed of traveling to space thought that, given the history of cancer and the fact of having a prosthetic leg, she would never be an astronaut.
Medical requirements for NASA astronauts, the American space agency, are strict and would make it impossible for Arceneaux to travel into space. But civilian space missions, sponsored by private individuals, have opened up that possibility for people like her.
Participants in this type of mission tend to pay dearly. When he decided to donate three of the four places on the mission, Isaacman said he wanted not just billionaires to have the opportunity to participate.
The businessman says that Arceneaux "is everything we want our team to represent".
"She has an interest in the world around her, is dedicated to taking care of others and is hoping for a better future for all of us," he says.
"She already inspires me, and I am sure that she will inspire many others as they come to know her in the course of our mission."
Arceneaux has already visited the SpaceX complex in Hawthorne, California, where he visited the facilities and had his measurements taken for the space suit. Crew members will undergo training that includes mission simulations and exercises to deal with emergency situations and zero gravity.
Arceneaux hopes that his participation in this historic mission can serve as an inspiration for children struggling with cancer.
"They will be able to see a cancer survivor in space, someone like them," he says. "I hope you can see that anything is possible."
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