Chesapeake girl loses years-long fight with disease

CHESAPEAKE

Emily Haley of Chesapeake, whose battle against cystic fibrosis led the community to raise about $500,000 for a double lung transplant, died early today. She was 14.

“She fought this hard until the end,” said her aunt, Patty Grimes.

Family members say Emily was doing well until just a few weeks ago, when she began fighting a lung infection. “Things took a turn for the worse,” said her father, Bill Haley. “She couldn’t fight the infection.”

For a while, Emily was considered too healthy to get the transplant. If she had beaten the infection, she could have flown out to St. Louis for the operation, Bill Haley said.

The community got behind Emily in 2004 after a thief stole a canister of money for her operation from a Chesapeake sub shop.

With media attention generated by the theft, the Emily’s Breath of Hope campaign raised more than $500,000 in just seven months.

The money raised through auctions, raffles and benefit concerts will now go toward the Children’s Organ Transplant Association to be used as matching funds for other operations.

“Our family can’t thank the community enough,” Grimes said. “They saw a little girl needed their help.”

Bill Haley wanted to ask one more thing of community members: to become organ donors.

Emily is survived by a 12-year-old and twin 11-year-old sisters. Despite being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, which made it difficult for her to breathe, Emily wanted to dance and play soccer like her sisters. And she did.

“She never wanted to let this keep her back,” Grimes said.