On September 11 2015, after attending two practices and performing three routines with her drill team, Alexis was taken straight from the homecoming game to the hospital with what she thought was appendicitis. An ultrasound revealed that she had a large, abnormal mass in her abdomen. A biopsy was performed and pathology revealed that the mass was malignant.
On September 15, exactly one month after her 15th birthday, Alexis was diagnosed with stage 3 Neuroblastoma and classified as high risk. Within a two week period she had gone from being a regular high school sophomore – whose biggest worries were boys, dance practice, and what to wear- to having two procedures, being diagnosed with cancer, and completing her first round of chemo.
The doctors have said that she will have to endure at least 6-7 months of intensive treatment including 6 rounds of chemo, surgery, stem cell transplant, radiation, and oral chemo. Lexi’s life has changed drastically over the past two weeks, but she remains ever the optimist. This is not a trial that she would have chosen, but it is one that she will bear with kindness, grace, and love.
