On Nov. 3, 2025, our family’s life changed forever when what should have been a routine 6-year-old checkup turned into every parent’s worst nightmare.
I will forever be grateful to Dr Courtney Pickering, who completed her pediatric residency at the University of California, San Francisco and is now my daughter’s primary pediatrician. During Hailey’s checkup, she noticed that Hailey’s coloring was just slightly off and sent us to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland for blood work.
Just as we were driving home from the hospital, we received a call from Dr. Pickering told us to go home, pack a bag, and return to the hospital immediately.
My heart sank. When we arrived back at the ER, the team was already expecting us. Not all of the blood work had come back yet, but even from the basic panel it was clear that something was very wrong.
Minutes felt like days as I sat holding my baby girl in disbelief, still not knowing the underlying cause. Everything from that moment forward feels like a blur. I remember Hailey being scared, and a nurse going to the annex to find a very special elephant hospital gown just for her. The standard gowns for children her age are cheerful with teddy bear prints, but this one was one of a kind — and it instantly made Hailey feel special.
That was the first moment I realized how the staff at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland go the extra mile to make kids smile.
Hailey has never been just a number there. Even though families travel from near and far for the care provided at UCSF Benioff, every child is treated with compassion, dignity, and love.
We were admitted to a room on the fifth floor while we waited for more answers. I didn’t know it at the time, but that room would become my home for the next 14 days. The doctors explained that they were still waiting on additional tests, but it was likely leukemia. In the meantime, Hailey received three blood transfusions. Eventually, the words no parent is ever prepared to hear became our reality.
Hailey was diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia—also known as ALL—the most common childhood cancer. When you are told your child has cancer, the world stops.
But as more information unfolded in those first terrifying hours, the doctors also shared something that gave us hope: this form of leukemia is not only treatable, but often curable. In that moment, it became clear that we were exactly where we needed to be.
Today, thanks to the extraordinary doctors, nurses, and researchers at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, Hailey continues her treatment surrounded by a team that has cared for her not just as a patient, but as a child with a future worth fighting for.
Events like the upcoming UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals Gala make that care possible. They support the research, innovation, and compassionate programs that give families like ours hope during the most difficult moments of our lives.
Because of this community, children like Hailey are given something priceless: the chance to heal, grow, and dream about the life ahead of them.
Rachel Blanchard
We invite you to be part of this meaningful mission by joining us on April 11 at the Claremont Country Club for an evening of mingling, music, and dancing. Through our fundraising efforts, Hill Branch proudly supports UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland—helping ensure that every child receives exceptional medical care, regardless of their background, circumstances, or a family’s ability to pay.