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Heroes race to help children battle cancer
By Stephanie Flemmons, Staff Writer
It was a drastic year for Larissa Linton after her daughter, Taylor, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in December 2000.
Hospital and doctor bills forced the family into many financial strains and caused them to rely on support from friends during Taylor’s treatments.
Linton said her friends decided to put on a golf tournament “Tee off for Taylor,” to help raise money for the family so they could pay for a babysitter for their other two children. In a matter of weeks more than $15,000 was raised.
Taylor’s health began to improve and came home to the family in March. Because of her weak immune system, Linton said her daughter had many restrictions.
“At first I couldn’t take her to the grocery store or allow her to play with friends,” Linton said. “Then the doctors okayed her to go to preschool and she began getting back to a normal life.”
In September 2001, the family received shocking news. Taylor had relapsed.
“We had to go through the whole process again,” Linton said. “We had to put her back in the hospital, more chemotherapy treatments and another blood transplant.”
Linton said Taylor’s organs began failing and she passed away Nov. 26, 2001.
“After her death we reflected on the many blessings we had received when she was sick, both financially and emotionally,” Linton said. “We met a lot of families who were struggling. It’s a huge blow to them financially.”
She said parents ask, ‘Do I go to work and leave my 5-year-old in the hospital?’
Two years later, Jenny Scott’s daughter, Allie, faced the same fight against the same form of cancer.
Allie, just 4 months old, underwent three rounds of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant.
Just shy of 9 months, Allie lost the fight.
“Allie was never successful with her treatments,” Scott said. “She was a 4-month-old, battling an aggressive form of cancer with only a 20 percent chance of survival. She was a really sick little girl.”
Through Allie’s treatments, Scott said her neighborhood and school performed many fundraisers.
“If it wasn’t for their support system, we wouldn’t have made it through,” Scott said. “They collected enough to pay our mortgage payment for the summer, dog care and lawn service. Things you don’t want to think about.”
Linton discussed the need for an organization to help families of children diagnosed with cancer to social workers at Medical City of Dallas, where Taylor was hospitalized.
In her memory, Taylor’s Angels, a nonprofit organization, was created by Linton in 2002 to help struggling families.
Linton and Scott crossed paths shortly after Allie’s death in 2004.
“She had a huge following and a lot of supporters,” Linton said. “We wanted to spread our wings and we decided to merge together.”
Linton and Scott replaced Taylor’s Angels and created Heroes for Children in memory of Taylor and Allie.
Since its inception the organization has given $550,000 to families throughout Texas. Scott said the organization has never turned down a request by a family.
“We are able to issue a check to the family within seven days or less,” Linton said. “We are able to step in and help them immediately.”
As a part of a fundraising effort and spreading awareness throughout the community, Heroes for Children will kick off a 5K race/walk at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 15 at the Shops of Legacy in Plano.
Mayor Pat Evans will be the honorary chair and will declare Sept. 15 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Day in Plano.
“It’s a terrific cause,” Evans said. “They work very hard to raise money and it goes straight to the kids.”
A 1K family fun run/walk will take place at 7:50a.m.
Eddie Coker, the children’s entertainer, will perform and there will be a bounce house, magician, train rides, clowns and other activities for the family.
“It’s important for us to bring awareness to the community,” Scott said. “We want the event to be fun, but we also want to make sure people know why they are there.”
To register for the event or find out information go to www.heroesforchildren.org. To find out how to be involved, contact Jenny Scott at jscott@heroesforchildren.org.
Contact Stephanie Flemmons sflemmons@acnpapers.com
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