Addie (Knowlton) Haynes - A Brain Cancer Journey

Addie Haynes’ Brain Cancer Journey

 

Addie’s Bio:

 

Addie (Knowlton) Haynes grew up in southeastern Colorado on a working cattle ranch in White Rock operated by her parents, Bryce and Ronda Knowlton. She is the oldest of the family’s six children. Addie grew up with a love for horses, cattle, cactus and the country way of life.

 

As a child and teen, Addie was actively involved in rodeo and enjoyed everything from barrel racing to breakaway roping. Addie was the Colorado High School Rodeo Queen for two years and won 2nd runner up to the National High School Rodeo Queen. After graduation, she attended Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, CO and Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, where she earned her degree in Broadcast Journalism.

 

Addie has always been known for her beauty, wit, intelligence and cowgirl spirit. It is not surprising that she won the title of Miss Rodeo Colorado 2002 and went on to win the second runner-up at the Miss Rodeo America competition. She claimed a win and a saddle in the Horsemanship category along the way.

 

Her many ventures through the state and the nation led her to meet the love of her life, Aaron Haynes, who was living in Greeley while Addie was at CSU. The two had many fun times together with friends at the Greeley Stampede and country hangouts in Fort Collins. Their young romance was the beginning of long-lasting love.

 

Addie’s stage presence served her well as an ambassador for the Western way of life and as a news reporter. Her career took her to Grand Island, NE, where she reported local news in the Cornhusker state. She and Aaron maintained their long-distance relationship across two states. A few years later, Addie received a promotion to be a reporter in Albuquerque, near Aaron’s hometown of Los Lunas, New Mexico.

 

Aaron and Addie were married in 2007 at Addie’s grandparents’ hunting and fishing ranch near Powderhorn, CO. They settled in Los Lunas and started their family a few years later. Their oldest son, Holt (age 12), was born in 2009, followed by Haxton (age 10), Hazel (age 8), and Hardy (age 5). The kids quickly followed in their parents’ footsteps and began riding and roping at early ages. They are avid professional rodeo fans and compete in local and state rodeos. The kids help with the family business, Haynes Cattle Company (HCC), which raises and distributes grass-fed beef.

 

The Haynes family’s number one priority is living in faith and serving the Lord. They have the support of a wonderful cowboy church family based in Los Lunas. Their faith has been so important at the start of Addie’s health journey.

 

 

Addie’s Health Journey

 

In December 2021, the Haynes family contracted Covid-19. Addie had always been prone to migraines and headaches and had severe headaches while she had the virus. The headaches did not seem to be clearing up in the weeks after she had recovered from the virus. Her standard remedies did not seem to be working.

 

On January 25th, 2022, Aaron found Addie unconscious on the floor. She was transported to the hospital for tests and scans. Unfortunately, the news from the doctors was not what the family had hoped to hear. The scans showed a large, rare brain tumor. The doctors recommended operating on it right away.

 

Addie underwent a craniotomy on January 26th to “resection” or remove as much of the tumor as was safely possible. The surgeons took several biopsies and sent them to the lab. Recovery from brain surgery can be extremely difficult. The side effects are often changes in balance, difficulty walking, changes in speech, fatigue, brain swelling, and headaches. Addie has been experiencing many of these since the surgery. Some days she is stronger, able to move better and do more, and other days she spends most of her time in bed trying her best to recover.

 

When the reports from the lab returned, the news was also not what the family wanted to hear. Addie was diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer that is difficult to treat. Doctors recommended that she start simultaneous brain radiation and chemotherapy. The treatments will be daily five days a week in Albuquerque beginning in March for six weeks. After that, her treatments will be one week per month for six months. The goals of the treatments are to stop the growth of the tumor, reduce Addie’s symptoms, and improve her quality of life and life expectancy.

 

The Haynes family is so very grateful for the army of faithful servants praying that the treatment improves her symptoms and allows her to go on living her life. No matter what, Addie knows that only God holds her future, and she has given this journey to Him. Aaron, Addie and the kids are walking in faith during this scary and difficult time. Addie says, “I know where I am going when this life ends, whenever that may be.” Thank you for your continued support and prayers as Addie and her family fight brain cancer with country grit the Grace of God.

 

Many kind family and friends have been asking how they can support the Haynes’. The family has needs for financial contributions to support in-home care for Addie (out-of-pocket, as this is not usually covered by insurance) for the next few months during her treatments and possibly after, medical supplies, medical bills, and daily expenses like gas and groceries while they are traveling to treatments 30 minutes away. They would also like to purchase or receive a golf cart that they can use to help Addie with ground transportation at the kids’ rodeos this spring and summer.

 

A few ways to contribute:

Donate through Addie’s GoFundMe Page

Send gas or grocery cards directly to the family (ask the family for address)

Prepare meals for the family