Teagan Haniszewski, 5, is getting a piece of her childhood back, thanks to Girl Scout Daisy Troop 244.
The girls, ages 6 and 7, had some money left over from selling Girl Scout cookies and decided to buy a walker for Teagan, whose brain tumor and treatment have robbed her of the ability to walk and talk.
“If she could have said anything, it would have been, ‘Look, mom. I can do this all by myself,’” said her mom, Carly Haniszewski, when the walker was presented last week at a Huntley Park District building. “It was very emotional for me. I was so happy to see her standing by herself with other kids. This is as normal as she can be with the challenges she has.”
Teagan has medulloblastoma, a form of brain cancer, and requires constant care. She is unable to play without supervision.
To help, her Huntley family had purchased a few different walkers over the years, aimed at giving Teagan the freedom to move around on her own. But each one ended up too advanced. Then, after months of research, Carly Haniszewski and her husband Bryant found what they believed was the perfect walker, but with hospital bills piling up, the family couldn’t afford it.
That’s where the scouts come in. They sold 2,271 boxes of cookies in about two months, raising $1,500 to fund activities and events. They discussed what to do with the rest of the money.
“We were talking about how we made so much money and discussing ways we could help others,” troop leader Dawn Guyer said. “We told the girls about Teagan.”
Grace McNamara, 6, said buying the walker for $600 was “to help out Teagan.”
“She couldn’t walk, and we wanted to be helpful,” added Nova Rothlisberger, 6.
Purchasing the walker was about more than just helping a child in need, said Janet Westberg, mother of troop member Breanna and vice president of community events for the Huntley Jaycees.
“Seeing my daughter and the other Daisies follow in our footsteps makes me feel that service to humanity will not be lost with the next generation,” she said. “My only wish for these young ladies is to carry this memory forever, and continue to invoke others to give back to their community.”
Teagan began having trouble walking and was vomiting more than usual in May 2007. Her pediatrician sent the family to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington for a CT scan, which revealed a brain tumor.
She went immediately to Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where she stayed until December 2007, enduring nine surgeries to remove the tumor. Following months of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, Teagan now has daily therapy aimed at one day allowing her to walk and talk on her own.
“Her strength is beyond words,” Carly Haniszewski said. “She has a mission in life, and we know that. I don’t know if she wasn’t as strong and as sassy a girl as she is, if she would have been able to live through this.”
Teagan will start kindergarten this fall at May Chesak Elementary School in Lake in the Hills.
“We hope this walker will help her be more independent,” Hanizweski said. “No other children have to have their parents hold on to them to stand with their friends. This will help her build confidence in herself.”
lsynett@tribune.com
