01x20 - High-Flying Hailey

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] At Marvel,
our stories and our superheroes

are inspired by real-life heroes.

So, the editors of some
of our best-known comics

have come together
to work on a special project:

to find and tell the stories
of kids doing the extraordinary,

helping communities near and far,
and changing the world.

These are the kids who will inspire
our stories for years to come.

Livy and I are twins.

She's had epilepsy
since the day that we were born.

I decided I'm gonna raise money to help

people with epilepsy.

It's been a really-- an amazing journey.

[narrator] Hailey is already a hero.

Now, we bring her story to the world
with the surprise of a lifetime:

making her into a Marvel superhero,

immortalized in her very own comic,
as a member of Marvel's Hero Project.

They're everyday kids...

who have accomplished the amazing.

Now, their true stories...

will reveal the heroes that live among us.

This is Marvel's Hero Project.

You know, one of the things we're always
looking for is great new artists

and I think we found one in this girl,

Hailey,

who used her skill as an artist
to help her sister out,

who's got this
very difficult-to-control epilepsy.

And Hailey has found a way to help Livy

and then help other kids along the way.

It reminds me of one of the best families

in the Marvel Universe

Scott and Cassie Lang,
Ant-Man and his daughter.

You know,
the bond that Livy and Hailey share

really reminds me of how whenever
Scott's gotta go on an Ant-Man mission,

he knows that Cassie is gonna be there

waiting for him.

Everything he does
is in service of that little girl.

Like, they're such a family.

-And she's looking out for him too.
-Exactly, exactly.

Yeah. It seems like they really
draw strength from one another.

They're these incredible twins

who are different and unique
and powerful in their own right.

Sort of like
Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch,

-those two twins, right?
-Oh, yeah.

Like, one is running around and,
like, changing the world,

and the other one is, like,

imagining how different the world can be

and trying to, you know, change reality.

In some ways, I look at Hailey

and I see it very much as,
kind of, a Valeria, right?

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

She imagines the impossible
and makes it happen

with grace and with love
and with compassion.

And it's-it's hard
not to get a little choked up

when you see how she is with her sister.

She's the kind of fan I think we tell
these stories that we hope we're reaching.

And I can tell you, it's an honor to bring
her into the Marvel Universe too,

-'cause I think we need more of her.

-Oh, for sure.

Livy and I are twins.

She has had epilepsy
since the day that we were born.

She has showed us how to be empathetic,
how to care more for other people,

to respect other people more,
to appreciate what we have.

She can't tell her story,

so I feel like that can be my job.

I can go and talk for Livy.
I can inspire people for her.

[cheers]

-You're Livy's sister.
-Yes, I am.

Hailey has gone beyond her own experience

as being a sister to someone with epilepsy

to thinking about other people
and what she can do

to provide hope
and inspiration for others.

"Once upon a time, there was a princess

and she lived in a castle,

but the castle was made
of pink bubble gum."

Hailey and Livy

have a really unique relationship.

With that twin bond, comes certain facets

that I will never understand.

"She would fly around her kingdom
to look at everything."

I think Livy got so much

out of being with Hailey all the time

and there was so much closeness.
There was always hand-holding,

laying together, you know, head to head.

[Jon] Now, until we get to the hospital.

Arrivederci .

[Allison] We knew early on
that we were having twins.

So that was awesome,

and we were just so excited about that.

The day that I knew I was giving birth,

they got Hailey out

and Hailey's screaming, doing her thing.

She was fine.

The pediatrician comes in,

and she noticed that Livy's eyes were,

bouncing, kind of, back-and-forth,

and she said, "I think Livy may be having

some type of seizure activity."

So they just, they took her away.

And things got really crummy from there.

Livy was born with seizures
right at birth,

infantile seizures,
and they were very severe.

I didn't know what a seizure was.
I didn't know a baby could have a seizure.

I didn't know if she was going to be okay.

I was terrified.

[Hailey] There have been times

when she's had over 100 seizures a day.

And to sit there and know that I can't,
at that moment, do anything to stop it,

it's-it's not easy.

They finally made a decision to do
what they call a hemispherectomy,

which is removing half of the brain.

Her seizures were not responding
to medicines.

The neurologist and the specialist offered

to try to do surgery

to disconnect parts of her brain.

[Allison] We truly believed, like,
this was the cure for her.

I mean, we knew
it was a bit of a long shot.

But we were, like, this is our last hope.

We're cutting her brain.

[Jon] After her surgery,
we went into her room.

She was lying there in her bed,

and all of a sudden,
she starts to have another seizure.

I had to leave the room, 'cause I felt
that epilepsy had just beat me.

And I had to take a break and walk away.

[sniffs]

Watching Hailey just be
who she was starting to become,

it gave us the courage

to go back to the hospital
every time and be with Livy.

When Jon and I were at the hospital,
we were, like, upstairs with Livy,

so sad and so scared.

We came downstairs

and all of a sudden she's running
down the hall coming after us,

and her arms are flapping everywhere,
and it was, like, here comes the joy.

And that's just how I think of her.

She's like this goofy,
happy little thing running at ya

with a huge smile on her face.

Hey, good morning.
How you doing this morning?

-[whines]
-You good?

Mwah!

Are you happy?
Okay, let's get you dressed.

A lot of times, especially with Livy,
epilepsy comes with something else.

Livy also has cerebral palsy,

which, obviously, is the reason why
she can't walk and she can't talk as well.

All right, let me brush your hair now.

Hailey grew up with this, you know,
very challenged, disabled sister,

but Hailey thought she was,
like, the coolest ever

and just accepted her and loved her.

All right. Great job, Livy.
Your hair's great.

All right. Let's go to school now.

And taking care of Livy was just a
full-time, really difficult job, you know.

And seeing your child seize day after day,

the way that she would,

it's just really hard.

[Jon] It becomes a real burden on a family

because you never expect
to have to go through this.

She was like a newborn baby
for years and years and years,

and it took its toll.

[Jon] You have medication co-pays,

you have different intensive therapies,
which aren't covered by insurance.

You have travel costs
as far as getting a wheelchair van.

There eventually becomes a time
where you say,

"What are we are gonna do?"

I like Marvel comic books.

All of those characters

have gone through something in their life

that sets them back,

and at some point, they had the choice

to either just give up,

or they could step up

and do something for other people.

Livy's been able
to get through everything she has.

She's gotten through brain surgery,

she's gotten through hospital visits

and countless seizures,

and she's been so strong
to get through that.

And I wanna be just as strong as her

to do that too.

When I was six years old,

my parents were talking out on the patio,

and I heard them saying,

"Okay, what can we do
to raise money for this?"

[Jon] She wanted to help in some way

because she could hear
how tense her mom and I were,

that we needed to help fund Livy's things.

[Hailey] So I said, "Okay, I wanna help
out with this. What can I do?"

She said, "Well, I can make a painting."

And so she made a painting.

She just wanted to do it

because she knew it might help her sister.

[Hailey] I made a picture,
and it was a little spring day.

There was an anthill,
and a flower and some clouds.

And we decided to sell that on eBay.

[Jon] It took off from there.

[Hailey] Once that painting sold,
we continued to do more of that.

I painted more pictures,

and I also started selling bracelets.

Look at these.

-[Jon] You like those?
-Yeah.

[Jon] While her other friends were
out playing and going to see movies,

she was in the room painting

and making bracelets

to raise money for her sister .

And the inspiring Rising Star Award

goes to Hailey Scheinman!

-[cheers]
-[applause]

[audience laughs]

We did that for several years.

So many people had given to us,

and we knew that
there were plenty of other people

going through what we were going through.

So, we could not just help ourselves,
but help people all around the country.

I had the idea to bring together
the kids in my community

to start something called the Kids Crew.

Hey, guys.
Welcome to the Kids Crew meeting.

Yeah.

To start helping local organizations

that gave kids with disabilities
different equipment.

We were helping people that were staying
in the hospital, all kinds of things.

I'd like to introduce our newest member,

Jenna.

[applause]

When I first heard about her idea
of starting something called Kids Crew,

I thought, "Okay, this could be fun."

Does anyone here know what epilepsy is?

You raise awareness in your school,
you actively talk about epilepsy,

you maybe do a fundraiser, or maybe
you build some sort of awareness activity

in your school or your neighborhood.

And he said,
"You can be the president and CEO."

So, I said, "Sure."

[Jon] There were about ten kids
at the first meeting.

The second meeting,
which then had 20 kids.

The third meeting then had 40 kids.

And it got to a place where we

were taking up a lot of time doing this,

'cause it was such a great program.

[Hailey] 'Cause I wanna just give you
a quick update about "Lemonade for Livy."

There are stands registered in every state
across the country again this year.

My friends decided one day,

"Okay, we're gonna have a lemonade stand

to raise money for Livy.

And we're gonna call it,
'Lemonade for Livy.'"

Friends of friends who lived out of state
started having "Lemonade for Livy" stands,

and it just grew and grew and grew.

Today we are making a stand
against epilepsy

at the first Lemonade for Livy
stand of the year.

Hi.

[Hailey] My dad and I were saying,

"Hey, what if we could raise
a million dollars with this?

That would be awesome."

But we were, like,
"Okay, that's so far-off.

We're not even gonna get close to that."

But as of now we have raised
about $700,000 through the event.

Get your lemonade!

[girl] All money we raise goes

to the Epilepsy Foundation for research!

[Phil] What she has started is a movement.

It's a movement by kids, for kids.

It's really fun and it makes me feel good

because I'm helping others.

When I've seen Hailey, like,
how she makes a difference

even though she's not, like, an adult,
I'm, like, "Okay, I can do that."

Hailey is a remarkable individual.

I've seen her start
from a little, little tiny thing

and she has the qualities
that I really hope that Grace

can grow up to really possess one day.

By you guys doing this

and asking other people to be involved,

you're really helping to be voices
for people like Livy and Gabe,

who can't speak for themselves.
So thank you for doing that.

[cheers]

We've had 100 children who had signed on

to Kids Crew. Hailey did that.

Now we're over 1,000 kids in Kids Crew,

because of Hailey Scheinman.

-Oh, that is awesome.
-Yeah.

[Phil] It's been spectacular to watch
the growth of this initiative

and it's all because of one little girl
who decided to make a difference.

She has always said

"Kids have the power to change the world."

Hailey, herself, is changing the world.

[Hailey] Livy, she's really taught us
a different perspective on life.

She showed us how to care more
for other people.

There have been hard times.

She still has given us so much in return.

It's interesting and complicated,
but it's been really an amazing journey.

You can make a huge difference
if you put your mind to it.

You just need to be inspired and willing
to put work into it to make it happen.

-[Stephen] Hailey is every inch a hero.

-[Sarah] Yeah.

Here's a kid who has done so much
to help other people.

Bringing that into the comics,

along with the fact
that she's such a big Marvel fan,

made this project extra special.

It did.

It also, though, kinda made it daunting.

I mean, this is a kid who knows
our characters, knows our comic history.

Right. There was a challenge here
we didn't have with all the kids.

Yeah.

It was gonna take a lot to impress her.

But I do think we kinda pulled it off.

So, I think, you know,
the uniform we gave her

-feels like an authentic Marvel hero.

-Yeah.

It feels like someone pulled
right from our comics,

where, honestly, Hailey belongs.

And, you know, the power that she loved,
that she mentioned to us, was flight.

Well, and it works so well,

'cause she is lifting other people up.

You know, she is on every single day,

the work she's doing,
the passion she brings,

is really, kind of, helping others
and lifting them and soaring with them.

So we've got,

we've got all the pieces together.

I can't wait to show them
the finished product here.

-Well, there's a movie night coming up.
-That's where we're gonna do it.

They love family movie night.

They've made their home
the fun place to go.

Exactly. I think that tonight's
movie night is the perfect time,

and I think, kind of, a fun way

to welcome her into the Hero Project.

Thank you all for being here
for movie night.

You've been along for this journey
for the whole time here.

And so we're just really thrilled

that you can be part
of this experience with us.

What does that mean?

Hailey...

"Dear Hailey,

to everyone in this room, you are a hero.

You have worked tirelessly
on behalf of Livy

and millions of other kids
living with epilepsy.

With your devotion and your compassion,

you stop at nothing

to lift up those not only close to you,

but around the world.

Your friends at Marvel are dazzled
by your sacrifice.

Like Rogue,
there is no limit to your powers.

And for that, we believe you represent
everything that Marvel stands for.

There's a box in front of you.

Open it.

When you do,

you'll see that you have been chosen

to be part of an elite group.

[Allison giggles]

Welcome to the Marvel Hero Project."

Holy!

[applause]

Keep breathing, keep breathing!

"Wear it with pride.

It's your badge of honor in your new role
as a member of the Marvel Hero Project.

And to show you how much
we admire everything you're doing,

we are making a donation in your honor

to an organization

that helps those with disabilities
in the amount of $10,000."

Oh!

"That's not all!

The folks in the mighty Marvel Bullpen
have created something special for you.

Inside the box

you'll find an instant collector's item.

High-Flyin' Hailey #1 ."

-Oh, my God.
-[crowd laughs]

"A comic book made for, and starring you."

Oh, my God!

"We hope you see yourself in every page

just as we at Marvel do."

[shrieking]

[Hailey] Oh, my God.

"We are so proud to have you

as an official member
of the Marvel Hero Project."

-Oh, my God!
-"Your friends at Marvel."

[Allison squeals]

-Go get your daddy.
-Oh, my God!

-Oh, my God! [laughs]
-[laughs]

[Hailey] Oh, my God!

God. Oh, my God. Hailey. Oh, my God.

Wait, like, is this,
like, unfolding and stuff?

-Oh, my God.
-My, God!

[laughs]

It's, like, an actual comic book.

-Yeah.
-Oh, my gosh.

-[Jon] Yeah. And you're a superhero.
-That is so cool. Can everybody see it?

[chatters]

For the past five years
Marvel's been my thing,

like, that was what I loved so much.

If there was one thing that it could be
that would make her the happiest,

-it would have been Marvel.
-Marvel.

And that's what made it so amazing.

-Yep.
-Yeah.

Marvel's telling me, "Oh, yeah,
and you're kind of part of it too."

It's like,
"Oh, my gosh, this is so amazing."

This is just everything
that I could dream of

and more than that.

What Marvel was able to capture
was the bond between the sisters.

There's some frames

where just how they looked at each other,

how they connected with each other,
and that is their bond.

I mean, they are, they're twins,

and you can see the sister love and
the relationship between the two of them.

And they captured that so beautifully.

You did this, Livy. You made this happen.

Hailey, you guys both made this happen,

honey.

Livy deserves just as much too,
because she's been so involved

and such an amazing inspiration for me.

So, for us to be put together in that,
it's like, "Yeah, we're together,"

and it's showing everyone
that we're a team.

I wanna, like, see that on Livy too.

At some point,
Livy, you have to wear this too.

-Yeah, yeah, lay it on Liv, Loo.
-Yeah.

[Allison] What do you think, sweetie?

Isn't it cool?

-Aw.
-[Jon] Mm.

-You guys can share it, okay, sweetheart?

-Okay, we will do that.

-Okay, deal.
-[Jon laughs]

You guys were already heroes
before all of this.

This is just a recognition
of everything that you've done.

-[Allison] What's going on?
-[Hailey] I don't know.

-[chatters]
-I don't know what's happening.

-[Jon laughs]
-[Allison squeals]

Oh, my God!

Hailey.

Oh, my God.

-Hi.
-Allow me to introduce myself...

my name is Chris Hemsworth.

Now, I'm told you like superheroes.

Oh, yeah.

I like superheroes too.

That's awesome!

That's why I like you.

You are the real superhero.

[Hailey] Oh, my gosh.

I can't believe

I'm getting to talk to you right now.

I'm freaking out.

I am too.

I'm so excited, because look at this,

I've got the coolest comic book
in the world right now.

Oh, my God!

Hi, Livy. It's so nice to see you.

I feel as if I'm really,
kind of, in the room,

- so I'm giving you a virtual hug.
-I'm hugging you back too.

Because I'm actually
going to hug the computer,

but I'm gonna get in really close.

Yep, yep, yep.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

We have fun doing this,
and it's an amazing job,

but if it's in any kind of inspiration

to this,

to what you've done.

I mean, you're doing this in the real
world in ways that it's quantifiable.

You're gonna inspire
so many millions of people

that you haven't even met,
that you'll never meet.

It's the most amazing thing.

People are gonna see your story,
they're gonna learn about you

and say, "You know what?

I could do something like that too."

You're changing the world.

And what a great sister you have,

what a great Mom and Dad,
what a great family.

Oh, I know. Thank you.

Thank you to everybody--

-Thanks, Paul!
-[Jon] Thank you, Paul!

Thank you, Paul! Thank you so much!

When you have someone that you see on TV

and you consider a hero

and then they tell you that you're a hero.

That's, like--

There are not many feelings
that can beat that.

-[Jon] Thank you so much!
-Thank you!

[boy] Bye, Ant-Man!

-Bye, Ant-Man!
- Bye.

Doing things that help my sister
and to help people

and you never really expect

something like this to come of that.

You wanna help as many people as you can

and then when something like this happens,

it really lets you know,

like, the impact you're able to make,

and it's so special.

Look, Livy. Look. Here we are together.

You remember that? Remember that part?

Yeah. That part was...

Hey, Livy. We're superheroes now.

-Yay!
-Yay!