BROOKFIELD — A Brookfield-area student celebrated beating cancer with her fellow classmates on Friday.
At St. Dominic Catholic School on Friday, the students wore teal and gold shirts, for “Lucy Day.” The day was meant to celebrate Lucy Spada’s return to school.
“Really happy and everybody supports me and it’s nice,” said Lucy.
“We are all so thrilled to have her because it means prayer works and the kindness of people is there and it can move mountains,” said Jill Fisher, Principal of St. Dominic’s Catholic School.
For the past year, Lucy has been battling cancer. In September, after limping at a soccer game, she was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer. Lucy’s parents said this past year was incredibly trying, watching their daughter go through 14 intense rounds of chemotherapy, 50 rounds of radiation, and surgery.
“We really spent a lot of time at the hospital and she spent a lot of time feeling ill,” said Maggie Spada, Lucy’s mother.
According to the National Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, 43 children are diagnosed with pediatric cancer each day, and 4 percent of the federal budget is allocated for childhood cancer research, that’s why Lucy’s parents started the Spada Pediatric Sarcoma Foundation, to help fund a cure for pediatric sarcomas.
“We are so grateful for the opportunity to use our experience and make it better for one kid and we are so grateful that we were able to muscle through the last heat with the help of the community,” said Maggie.
Lucy is now happy, healthy, and cancer-free. Her family said it was the support of the school and community that got them through the most difficult time of their life.
“It was immense huge because our focus was 100 percent on Lucy, as it should be,” said Piero Spada, Lucy’s father.
“The horror of what these kids go through is something you wouldn’t believe unless you see it, so that’s why something as simple as wearing gold and bring awareness to a cause that is so mostly underfunded means so much,” said Maggie.
Although Friday was Lucy's day at school, her strength is something to be celebrated every day.
“Lucy is remarkable she is our hero and resilient,” said Maggie.
To follow Lucy’s journey and learn more about the Spada Pediatric Sarcoma Foundation, click here.
