Race For Lace...

• 5K Run:- Run 3.1 Miles

Please join Cleveland Family Health & The Smithfield Police Department by putting on your running shoes and coming out to support Lacy. A scenic walk/run along the The Buffalo Creek Greenway (also known as the Neuse Riverwalk) meanders along a wooded waterway through the heart of Smithfield . After the race, you will be able to enjoy the Craft and Jewelry Sale, Live entertainment and food as we come together for such a special girl

Lacy O’Quinn

The story of 6 year old Lacy starts just like any other day. A quick trip to the pediatrician’s office to accompany her sister turned out to be the day the O’Quinn Family would never forget. The doctor noticed while she was there with her 9 year old sister Laura; that her color looked a little off and he suggested a quick Complete Blood Count. After going to WakeMed Cary for these labs, returning to the pediatrician’s office revealed that she had abnormal results and that she needed to go straight to UNC Chapel Hill ER. Life for the O’Quinn family would not be the same after they made this drive, after a whirlwind experience and more testing it was thought that Lacy might have Leukemia. The moment a parent hears those words is a moment that no parent or child should ever have to hear and the next 24 hours to wait for the results would unwind itself in slow motion. She was admitted to the UNC Children’s Hospital, where other children just like her were in room after room, but across from her was Drew. Her cousin that was just diagnosed with Leukemia as well. Lacy was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic B-Cell Leukemia.

On June 24, 2016 the plan would unfold. Port access, bone marrow biopsy, spinal tap and her very first Chemotherapy dose into her spinal fluid have been completed. There are many firsts that parents cannot wait to see their child have, this is one no parent could ever dream of happening to their baby girl. Thankfully, the spinal tap was negative for Leukemic cells in her Cerebral Spinal Fluid. The next day Lacy would begin having Chemotherapy through her Port and her family watched as she became very weak and stopped eating. Weighing only 44lbs to begin with, seeing her reach 36lbs in less than 10 days good news came in that they could take her home.

Round 1 was completed on July 22, after 28 days of Chemo. This is known as the “Induction Phase” which would get Lacy into a form of remission to allow Round 2 to begin. On July 28, Lacy would begin the Consolidation Phase and continue this for 9 months which includes Chemo through her port and spinal fluid as well as oral chemo. This cycle concentrates on the spinal fluid since leukemia tends to hide in the CSF despite remission. Every Friday since then, Lacy has a spinal tap with Chemo injection into her Cerebral Spinal Fluid and an IV Chemo Infusion as well as Chemotherapy daily at home along with other medications to fight her Cancer.

Now, Lacy has lost all of her hair, has very little muscle mass in her legs and is very weak. Despite all of that she demonstrates a strength and spirit of bravery that pushes her every day through all of the pain, nausea and misery to get better. There is always a smile on her face no matter how she is feeling. This keeps her family going and has become their life line.

With the support of everyone we can help Lacy get through this and lessen the financial strain that it will cost for her treatments. Let us give to a little girl that has her entire life ahead of her, the biggest fight for her life going on and still maintains the beautiful smile on her face showing her love of life.

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