TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa mother is hoping to make future bride's dream come true by giving her a gift of her daughter's wedding gown. Through this gift, Denise Haynes is hoping to honor the memory of her oldest daughter, Kady.
The beaded mermaid-style gown, originally valued at $8,000, is one of the last items Haynes has left of her daughter's. It has remained packaged and preserved since her daughter's wedding day.
"She knew she was beautiful in that gown," Denise said.
Kady Haynes was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in January 2012 at the age of 28.
Denise said despite Kady's great attitude, surgeries and chemotherapy, nothing stopped the cancer from metastasizing and becoming stage 4.
On April 22, 2014 at the age of 30, only 27 months after her diagnosis, Kady passed away.
After her own diagnosis, Kady recognized a need and began purchasing Christmas gifts for women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and their children.
According to Denise, she only had two years to help the MBC community before cancer took her life. But she left a lasting impression on everyone who knew her.
Denise said Kady's legacy of love, generosity and giving inspired The Kady Haynes Beauty for Ashes Project.
Now, Denise said she wants to gift Kady's gown to a future bride. She said she would love to give the gown to anyone who feels touched by Kady's story, but it would really have meaning to her to give the gown connected to the MBC community.
"It's time for somebody else to have that moment," Denis said. "It's not something I can just say, 'hey, here you can have this,' somebody needs to want it."
The gown will be given free of charge, but any donations to Kady and Denise's charity, The Kady Haynes Beauty for Ashes Project, will be welcome. The gown is a size four.
If you, or someone you know is interesting connecting with Denise about the wedding dress, please email her at all4kady@gmail.com.
