Keeping her head up

Funk was very private about the surgery initially because she didn’t want any extra stress during the healing process. She chose to tell a select few, including one of her closest friends, senior Caitlin Sullivan. “Hailey actually ended up texting me when she was first admitted to the hospital as she was waiting to get a transfer,” Sullivan shares. “We ended up chatting for a bit since she explained the whole story to me on what had happened.” The discovery of the blood clots came as a surprise to everyone. “I was honestly shocked about it, since it scared me that she had to go in,” Sullivan adds.

Now that it has been months since the surgery, Funk reflects upon her experience. “It still hasn’t hit me yet because of how fast it happened,” she says. “I realized that any moment could be your last, and that you have to be careful.”

Funk’s experience opened her eyes to how precious life is. “I see myself as totally different now,” she says. “I was just living my life and having fun and then overnight everything could have completely changed.” 

She has also found a new appreciation for life: “I realized how grateful I am to still be here, and how to find good in everything,” she explains. Anyone can learn from her experiences, and how she chose to try to look on the brighter side of life despite the difficult circumstances she faced. Even though she faced the possibility of death, she keeps moving forward with a new outlook on life.