WEST LAFAYATTE, Ind. – Overcome with excitement, head coach Boo De Oliveira and the Purdue softball team as they welcomed a new member to the Boilermaker family. Through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, the Boilermaker softball team adopted Lucy Smart, a vivacious 13-year old, who helped save her brother's life.
"We are so honored that Lucy [Smart] chose our family to adopt her and her family," De Oliveira said. "The entire Smart family are now honorary members of the Purdue softball family forever."
The youngest of three, Lucy was presented with a unique situation after her brother Charlie was diagnosed with "ALL T-Cell", an extremely rare form of Leukemia.
After several months into treatment, it was decided that a bone marrow transplant would positively affect Charlie's chances of survival. However, finding that match wasn't going to come easy as one out of every 430 people matches with a patient, according to the Be The Match Organization.
Knowing the odds were stacked against him, Charlie and his family pressed forward, only to find that Lucy was Charlie's one in 430 match.
Honored to help her brother, a courageous Lucy donated eight milliliters of bone marrow to Charlie. The transplant was a success and today, they are both healthy and growing.
To honor Lucy's commitment to Charlie and her family, Purdue softball welcomes them to all practices, games and other special events throughout the 2019 season and beyond, while also partnering with the Smart Family to increase awareness for the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation.
To learn more about Charlie, Lucy and their story: Charlie's Champions -- Facebook
To learn more about the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation: www.friendsofjaclyn.org
The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation is a charitable organization that is dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by pediatric brain tumors. It was founded in 2005 and inspired by a young patient named Jaclyn Murphy who was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, in March 2004 at the age of nine.
"We are so honored that Lucy [Smart] chose our family to adopt her and her family," De Oliveira said. "The entire Smart family are now honorary members of the Purdue softball family forever."
The youngest of three, Lucy was presented with a unique situation after her brother Charlie was diagnosed with "ALL T-Cell", an extremely rare form of Leukemia.
After several months into treatment, it was decided that a bone marrow transplant would positively affect Charlie's chances of survival. However, finding that match wasn't going to come easy as one out of every 430 people matches with a patient, according to the Be The Match Organization.
Knowing the odds were stacked against him, Charlie and his family pressed forward, only to find that Lucy was Charlie's one in 430 match.
Honored to help her brother, a courageous Lucy donated eight milliliters of bone marrow to Charlie. The transplant was a success and today, they are both healthy and growing.
To honor Lucy's commitment to Charlie and her family, Purdue softball welcomes them to all practices, games and other special events throughout the 2019 season and beyond, while also partnering with the Smart Family to increase awareness for the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation.
To learn more about Charlie, Lucy and their story: Charlie's Champions -- Facebook
To learn more about the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation: www.friendsofjaclyn.org
The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation is a charitable organization that is dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by pediatric brain tumors. It was founded in 2005 and inspired by a young patient named Jaclyn Murphy who was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, in March 2004 at the age of nine.