In March 2023, when Hailey Robb was eight months pregnant with her third child, life seemed to be going as expected — until one small detail threw it all off.
Hailey was bathing her two-year-old son, Carter, when she felt something unexpected near his left ribs — a small, firm “knot.” That same week, her husband Austin mentioned that he also noticed it when he playfully tickled their son.
Meet Carter Robb.
“My husband noticed it when he tickled him. I noticed it when I was giving him a bath,” Hailey said. “We must have both noticed it at the same time and it came up in conversation shortly after I noticed it.
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Hailey was usually the one to worry, so when Austin brought it up first, she knew it wasn’t trivial. A few days later, her mother—a nurse known for her calm practicality—noticed the same lump and urged them to get it checked out.
Carter seemed otherwise healthy; apart from a recent cold and slight weight loss there were no symptoms. Still, Hailey’s instincts whispered that something was wrong.
“Neither of us wanted to think it could be anything serious, but we both felt like we had to get it checked out,” she said.
With their regular pediatrician, who had recently retired, they saw a new doctor who examined the lump and seemed indifferent. “They didn’t really know what was going on, but they felt the knot,” Hailey explained.
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The doctor suggested bloating or constipation and ordered an x-ray, which was declared “normal”. Even so, Hailey left restless. “It didn’t sit well with me,” she admitted. “I remember thinking, ‘So we have to wait for something to show up before we find out what the knot is?’
Hailey trusted her intuition and decided not to wait. The next day, she took Carter to the emergency room, joined by her mother, while Austin stayed at work. Guided by the advice of two trusted medical friends, they traveled to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. in nashville.
“I’m not going to lie, the thought of it being cancer crossed my mind for a second, but I pushed it away,” Hailey said. “I tried to convince myself that maybe it was a cyst or maybe something else that could be easily treated.”
Tests were done – blood tests, CT and ultrasound. When the doctor returned, his expression alone confirmed her fears. He asked her to sit down before saying the words every parent dreads: “Your child has cancer.”
Carter at the start of treatment.
Hailey’s world came crashing down at that moment. “I really didn’t think my child could have cancer,” she recalled. “No parent ever wants to think that this could happen to their child.”
At first, doctors suspected Wilms tumor, a type of kidney cancer with a high recovery rate. Surgery was scheduled to remove the kidney, but in divine timing — as Hailey puts it — an earlier slot opened up. During the operation, it became clear that the tumor was larger and more aggressive than expected.
Carter’s diagnosis was changed to clear cell sarcoma, a rarer and more dangerous cancer.
Chemotherapy followed, each session draining more of the little boy’s strength. “He needed blood transfusions after every chemo. Once he got an infection at the port and was locked in his hospital room for days,” Hailey said. Still, Carter persevered with quiet bravery.
In November 2023, scans revealed she was cancer free. His port was removed that December — though even that brought complications when he briefly stopped breathing. “Seeing him holding that little cup of port was like a victory,” Hailey recalled, crying.
Carter Robb was declared cancer free in November 2023.
“All I could do was thank God for being with us. Thank God for being with his doctors and medical team. Thank God for every person who helped us along the way.”
Now four years old, Carter is a lively, laughing child whose strength defies his past. Born out of fear and uncertainty, his story is a testament to faith, perseverance and the power of parental instinct.
