Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

3-Year-Old Cancer Survivor Is The Flower Girl At Her Bone Marrow Donor's Wedding—And Now We're Crying 😭

Make us preferred on Google

Hayden Hatfield Ryals was in college when she signed up to be a bone marrow donor in 2015. At the time, she didn't think she would be a match for anybody; however, fate had a plan in store when the call for help came a year later.

A baby girl by the name of Skye Savren-McCormick was diagnosed with leukemia, and a coordinator from the marrow registry "Be the Match" told Ryals she was a match.


After struggling to find the meaning of life, the young student finally found her purpose: to save Skye's life.

The pair finally met for the first time and were no longer known as donor and survivor. On this special occasion, they were the bride and her flower girl.



Prior to becoming a donor, Ryals told the Dothan Eagle how she began questioning her life's mission:

"I was having trouble finding myself and feeling like I had a purpose. So the more that I talked to this coordinator with Be the Match, I started feeling like, what if this is my purpose?"

Skye was just diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia prior to her first birthday in March 2016. She received her first bone marrow transplant that year, but due to complications on her road to recovery, the toddler still required a second transplant from another donor in 2017, and that bone marrow came from Ryals.




Ryals said the process of being a donor was very simple, and for her, the gesture paid off significantly.

"It's a cheek swab -- swab your cheek, put it in an envelope and they send it off ... I thought there's like a one in a gazillion chance that I would ever be a match."

While Skye was fighting the cancer, Ryals questioned who the little soldier was and how she was doing, but Be the Match requires that all donors refrain from contacting patients for one year.

When the time came, she contacted Skye's mother and corresponded through text messages and Facebook.

On Skye's third birthday, Ryals sent the toddler a special gift, including an invitation to her wedding, asking her to be the flower girl.

With the doctor's consent, the Savren-McCormick family flew out to Alabama for the wedding, where both families met for the very first time at the wedding rehearsal.

Ryals recalled the emotional moment with ABC news:

"I walked up and I just dropped to my knees and all I could do was smile."





Twitter was emotional over the touching story of two people linked together in a special way.










Skye's mother told ABC that her daughter wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for Ryals.

"She was that sick. I feel like Hayden is such a huge success in why Skye was able to beat leukemia."

Both families plan to stay in touch.

"They are going to be part of our lives forever," said Skye's mother. "She saved our daughter's life."




H/T - Twitter, ABCnews, CBS

More from Trending

Randy Quaid; Anne Hathaway
Bobby Bank/Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Disney

Randy Quaid Dragged After Raging About Anne Hathaway Being Too 'Woke' For 'Days Of Thunder' Sequel

In 1990, Paramount Pictures released the NASCAR centered film Days of Thunder starring Tom Cruise and a relatively unknown actor, Nicole Kidman. The movie set became the place the pair began a relationship that resulted in a 10-year marriage.

Their divorce was finalized in 2001.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
@atrupar/X

Trump Tried To Rip Obama And Biden While Speaking To NASA Scientists—And Their Reaction Is Everything

President Donald Trump was met with silence from a group of NASA scientist who had gathered to hear him speak at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center only for Trump to launch into grievances about former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Trump was at the facility to award the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, the crew members of Artemis II who formed the first mission to bring astronauts toward the Moon in over half a century.

Keep ReadingShow less
James Clyburn; Donald Trump
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Stefani Reynolds/Pool/Getty Images

Dem Rep. Sparks Debate After Asserting That Impeaching Trump Shouldn't Be 'Priority' If Dems Take Back House

South Carolina Democratic Representative Jim Clyburn has left people torn after recommending that Democrats should not make impeaching President Donald Trump a "priority" if they take back the House of Representatives in November's midterm elections.

Trump is the only president to be impeached twice. The Senate acquitted him after he was accused of soliciting political favors from Ukraine. Trump would later be acquitted on charges that he incited an insurrection against the government after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol building in 2021.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Dolly Parton
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images; Theo Wargo/WireImage

Trump Just Shared An AI Photo Of Himself With Dolly Parton—And Fans Are Having None Of It

President Donald Trump sparked backlash from fans of legendary performer Dolly Parton after he shared an AI-generated photo of himself with Parton on social media.

There do not exist any photos of Trump with Parton, who died last week after a brief battle with cancer. Parton's family buried the singer, actress, and philanthropist next to her late husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hailey, Justin, and Jack Bieber
@haileybieber/Instagram

Video Of Justin Bieber's 2-Year-Old Son Playing Golf Has Fans Convinced That He's A Child Prodigy

Most parents will agree that a child's first few years of birthdays are monumental. Not only is their child growing up, but with each birthday, their child develops new skills and becomes more and more their own person.

But most parents cannot say that one of their child's skills is a prodigy-level understanding of a sport.

Keep ReadingShow less