Hayley Arceneaux - Wild Ride: A Memoir of I.V. Drips and Rocket Ships

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

L minus fourteen days

Once upon a time, there was a girl who rode a Dragon to the stars

Its a quiet evening in Memphis, and Im getting ready for the trip of a lifetime.

Scarlett, I say, in two weeks, Im going to space.

My beautiful, fluffy, gray Aussiedoodle looks up at me with an expression of love and mild concern on her face. Shes not worried about me. Shes wondering who will watch her when Im gone. Shes seen me pack before, and she knows that it ends with my leaving for a while.

The boys are going to take amazing care of you, I tell my dog, knowing shell be safe and happy with our favorite neighbors.

Her expression relaxes and I continue. Shes heard it all since the beginning of this wild year: the Dragon spacecraft, the Falcon 9 rocket, the fact that were going deeper into space than anyone has been in over twenty years. The two of us are quarantining at home together. SpaceX was clear that anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will not be boarding the spacecraft, and getting sick at this point is just not an option, because theres no way Im letting anything keep me from the ride of my life.

I cant wait. Theres nothing I love more than traveling to a place Ive never been before.

Plus, I hear the views are incredible.

In case youre wondering, no, this is not the beginning of a sci-fi fairy tale.

Forget science fiction. This is science fact, and the fact is that very soon Ill be strapping into a spacecraft with my crew. Our mission: After launch, well be 370 miles above the surface of the Earth, orbiting for three days at 17,500 miles an hour before we splash back down in the Atlantic Ocean. For reference, the International Space Station hangs out 250 miles up.

The last time I left the United States, I was going on a medical mission trip to treat patients in Nicaragua. The month before that, I was heading to Morocco to ride camels in the Sahara desert. Packing for an adventure is something Ive done before, many times, but deciding what to bring to outer space is nothing like planning for a tour of North Africa. Usually, Im inspired by reading travel blogs and articles by people who have been there before me, but there are no posts about packing for space (I did look).

Most of what I need will be supplied by the mission. Just a week after I was selected, I was fitted for a sharp white space suit by a woman who used to make superhero costumes for movies. That was nine months ago. Now launch is only days away. Im no superhero and this isnt a movie, but Im going to wear the hell out of that suit.

This will be my first liftoff, but as someone whos been to five continents (and counting), I know the rush I get when the plane takes off. From an airplane, which flies barely six miles above Earth, it feels like you can see it allhow the coastline juts out in one place and pulls back in another, the way rivers curve through farmland.

Were going to be higher in the sky than any civilian has ever been. I feel so lucky to get a chance to see the world from that angle. Even as Ill be sharing a 26.7-by-13-foot capsule with three other people for three days.

Its a good thing I have a lot of experience sleeping in hostels.

I will never forget the day I got The Call.

It was January 5, 2021, only nine months earlier, and I had a phone meeting scheduled with St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital.

As every St. Jude employee knows, we treat the toughest childhood cancers and pediatric diseases, and because of the fundraising we do, families never receive a bill from St. Jude.

St. Jude is everything to me. Its where I work as a PA (physician assistant) with leukemia and lymphoma patients. Its the place that treated me for bone cancer as a kid. Without St. Jude and the big limb-sparing surgery I had when I was ten years old, I could have lost my leg and my life. During treatment, St. Jude became my home. Twenty years later, its still my home.

Ill do anything I can for this place. When they call on me, I say yes. And they call me often. Ive been giving speeches for St. Jude since I was ten!

The desire to fundraise for St. Jude started the weekend before my first big surgery, when my mom and I were heading home to Louisiana so I could see my friends and family before the operation. On the drive south, I kept thinking about all of the buildings that made up the hospital, how many lights they had to keep on, how much it all cost, and how my treatment didnt cost us a thing. Where did all that money come from?

Mom, I said from the back seat. When I get older, I want to raise money for St. Jude.

You dont have to wait until you get older, Mom said. You can start now.

What she said struck me. I didnt have to wait. Now was now.

I got really quiet for a while, and then I asked Mom to turn down the radio.

I know how to raise money for St. Jude, I told her. This is the speech I will give: My name is Hayley Arceneaux. I had cancer when I was ten years old and came to St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. They saved my leg and my life. If I didnt go there, my family would either go bankrupt or have to sell our house, but we didnt because St. Jude was free. The staff there is very nice and there isnt one rude or cruel person. When Im there, I dont think of St. Jude as a cancer hospital but a place where Im surrounded in love. When people donate, I am very grateful. If you will, please donate money to help pay for the equipment and research to save childrens lives.