Sullivan “Sulli” Hajek admits that she gets rather nerdy when it comes to reptiles and amphibians.
“I would say that if I had to choose, reptiles are my favorite,” Sulli says.
The plucky 13 year old is definitely a kid you would want with you if you need to identify whether a snake in the wild is venomous, and she can also point out the many benefits the barking tree frog provides its ecosystem.
Sulli has big plans for the future and looks forward to getting started on her career as a herpetologist, a scientist studying amphibians and reptiles, and she has not let leukemia get in her way.
According to her oncologist, Dr. Colleen McDonough, Sulli has put up a fierce fight against leukemia, a blood disease that kills almost 25,000 people a year, according to the National Cancer Institute. It is estimated that between 3,000 to 4,000 children are diagnosed with leukemia each year.
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“It’s been a two-and-a-half-year fight with chemotherapy and multiple, lets say, hurdles, but Sulli is incredibly resilient,” McDonough said.
Recently, Sulli got to “ring the bell” at Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia, signaling the end of her treatment and that was when she found out that a major wish of hers had been granted.
Next Monday, Sulli and her family will take off for an all expense paid trip to Costa Rica, courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, where she will spend the week soaking up the rainforest climate and being surrounded by her favorite critter subjects.
“I hope to see some nocturnal tree frogs or a rainbow boa, but I’ll get really excited if I see a Tico Chameleon in person,” Sulli said.
Make-A-Wish Georgia has made wishes come true for over 10,000 children battling life-threatening illnesses in Georgia since 1995. Director of Development Jami Johnson says that local sponsors Top Golf, Dave and Buster’s and Jefferson EMT aided them in making Sulli’s wish come true.
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“We feel like this is part of the medicine for these children and it is so rewarding to have a part in this journey and see them hopeful, happy and healthy, having their wish come true,” Johnson said.
Sulli’s mother, Renee Hajek, can’t sing the praises of both the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Wellstar Children’s Hospital enough. The family has suffered tragedy through cancer before. In 2017, her husband Dave, Sulli’s dad, succumbed to esophageal cancer after an 18-month battle.
“They have become like family to us. We are down here weekly, sometimes we’re here three times a week, and Sulli has been so courageous, you look at her and see a 13 year-old child, but she is a 40 year-old in her heart,” Hajek said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter, Editorial Page Editor and weekly columnist for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
