A year ago, 15-year-old Grace Wildey was undergoing chemotherapy for Stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma that had spread through her neck, lungs, and lower spine.
Wildey's mother is Kim Wildey.
What followed was nearly a year of hospital stays and chemotherapy treatments, the station reported. Despite the grueling schedule, Wildey said she held onto an optimistic outlook throughout her care, telling WAVY that she expected to make it through and tried not to overthink her illness.
From Patient to Advocate for Other Kids
She has turned her experience into something she can give to others: she now volunteers by delivering handmade wooden wig stands to cancer patients who, like her, lost their hair to chemotherapy.
Her introduction to the craft came through a gifted session hosted by Woodcraft Norfolk and the Tidewater Turners' Women in Turning committee, where she built her own custom wig stand.
Community Recognition Across Hampton Roads
Wildey's story has drawn formal recognition from local institutions. She was selected as the 2026 Survivor Honoree for the 10th Annual Wings Over Leukemia & Lymphoma fundraising event in Virginia Beach, an outdoor music and wing festival that donates 100 percent of its net proceeds to Blood Cancer United, per the Decker Law Firm. Blood Cancer United is the organization formerly known as The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Her family also worked with Toby's Dream Foundation, a Virginia Beach nonprofit founded in 2009 that grants customized wish experiences to children with life-threatening illnesses treated at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters and Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, per the organization's website.
A Diagnosis That Fits a Larger Pattern
Wildey received her oncology care through a system that treats hundreds of children like her every year. The Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk follows more than 500 childhood cancer patients annually and diagnoses more than 70 new childhood cancer cases each year, according to CHKD.
Her age at diagnosis also lines up with broader national patterns. While Hodgkin lymphoma is rare in children under 5, it is the most common cancer diagnosed in adolescents between ages 15 and 19, according to the American Cancer Society.
For now, she's continuing to build and deliver wig stands around Hampton Roads, turning a diagnosis that once numbered more than 20 nodes on an X-ray into a steady stream of handmade gifts for kids facing the same fight she survived.
