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

Andy Cohen, Anderson Cooper and Cheri Oteri
@latenightercom/X

Cheri Oteri Just Revived Her Iconic Barbara Walters Impression During CNN's America 250 Broadcast—And Anderson Cooper Totally Lost It

He may be one of the most poised news anchors out there, but even CNN's Anderson Cooper isn't immune to the church giggles—especially when Cheri Oteri is around.

The legendary SNL alum joined CNN's coverage of America's 250th birthday, doing her impression of Barbara Walters.

Keep ReadingShow less
Larry David; Donald Trump; Rob Reiner
HBO; Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images; HBO

Rob Reiner Gets In One Last Dig At Trump In Surprise Final Acting Role Alongside Larry David—And It's A Mic Drop

Viewers this week of Larry David's new HBO historical sketch comedy series Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America learned that the late award-winning actor and director Rob Reiner filmed a sketch for the show before his death in December of 2025.

His appearance in the show, playing the United States' first President George Washington, was kept secret until the episode aired on Thursday, July 2.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Giorgia Meloni
Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images; Ludovic Martin / AFP via Getty Images

Trump Ripped After Mocking Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni With Bizarre 'Restraining Order' Meme

President Donald Trump was criticized after he continued his feud with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by sharing a photo of her looking up at him with the words "restraining order needed" above it.

That phrase is featured above a photo Trump shared as part of a flurry of other posts on Truth Social. It features him with Meloni from the recent G7 summit, showing her—who is about a foot shorter than him—looking up in his direction.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ron DeSantis
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Ron DeSantis Gets Brutal History Lesson After Making Patently False WWII Claim About Great Britain

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was swiftly fact-checked after he attempted to school an X account that was already trolling the United States by making a false claim about U.S. contributions during World War II.

To mark America's 250th birthday, the X account No Context Brits—which is known for posting memes, jokes, and sarcastic commentary—celebrated by highlighting a British pub that predates the United States by centuries.

Keep ReadingShow less

Woman Sparks Debate About Flight Etiquette After Preaching To Plane About Jesus During Flight In Viral Video

Well, travelers, we've heard flight attendants belt out "I Will Always Love You" on a 6:00AM flight, a young girl sing "How Far I'll Go" from Moana to "entertain" the masses during a delayed Delta flight, and we've even witnessed a surprise wedding, reception and all, down the center aisle before passing out the snacks.

And now, we've witnessed a woman breaking one of the biggest plane etiquette rules in the world, reminding all of the passengers that they could die before the flight begins, all to launch into a prophetic monologue about being saved by Jesus Christ.

Keep ReadingShow less