Cora Hair and the Scar that Changed her Life

FAYETTEVILLE, A.R. (KNWA/KFTA) – It was supposed to be a spring break trip that Cora Hair would never forget.

Before the trip, Hair realized that there was something wrong. She was initially diagnosed with strep throat. Upon her return to the Hill, and an ultrasound when the symptoms did not go away, she finally found out what was wrong.

“I had poplar thyroid carcinoma,” Hair told PTN’s Evan Kamikow. “Being 18 years old, (the doctors) kind of said like, this is pretty uncommon to see in such a young female athlete.”

From there, Hair went into surgery to get the cancer removed. The doctors told her that she would be able to make a full recovery, yet she still worried about the future of her soccer career.

“I think that was the scariest part of it too.” Hair said. “When I’m done playing soccer and I’m starting a family, is it going to affect that.”

While her family was home in Oklahoma, and on text with her every single day, Hair was comforted by the fact that her second family in the Arkansas soccer team, was right by her side every step of the way.

When training camp rolled around at the beginning of August, Hair was a full go in practice. Despite going down with an injury on a hard hit against Michigan State, the Broken Arrow native scored her first colligate goal the following game against Northwestern State.

“It was almost just like a sigh of relief life, oh my gosh, I did it,” Hair said. “My parents were standing right behind the goal when it happened, and I saw them like jump up and celebrate. So it was really cool to see.”

It’s a moment that is imprinted on Hair’s memory, just like the scar on her neck.

“It took me a while to kind of see it and use it as like a source of confidence… it’s a reminder that I’ve been through a lot and that using things that i learned during that will only take me farther.”

For the full story on Hair, head to the video next to the headline.