Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Community Rallies Around Emily Beazley as Street To Be Named for Her

By Howard Ludwig | April 22, 2015 11:26am
 Emily Beazley, 12, of Mount Greenwood has been battling an aggressive form of cancer since April 7, 2011. The latest setback is a pair of spots doctors found on her lung, making it difficult to breathe.
Emily Beazley, 12, of Mount Greenwood has been battling an aggressive form of cancer since April 7, 2011. The latest setback is a pair of spots doctors found on her lung, making it difficult to breathe.
View Full Caption
Supplied

MOUNT GREENWOOD — Emily Beazley's diagnosis and outlook are on two different ends of the spectrum.

The 12-year-old from Mount Greenwood has been battling an aggressive form of cancer since April 7, 2011. The latest setback is a pair of spots doctors found on her lung, making it difficult to breathe.

An update was posted online by her mother, Nadia Beazley, on Wednesday evening. She has shared her daughter's struggle with thousands of friends, neighbors and well-wishers. Some have raised money on the family's behalf, and others have spent countless hours in prayer.

"The radiation doctor could not hear any breath sounds in Emily's right lung," Nadia Beazley wrote in the update. "Emily can no longer lay flat in bed. She has been sleeping in a recliner."

 Emily Beazley is in the fight of her life. The student at Mount Greenwood Elementary School is fighting cancer and will have a street named for her on Friday.
Emily Beazley is in the fight of her life. The student at Mount Greenwood Elementary School is fighting cancer and will have a street named for her on Friday.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Supplied Photo

Oncologists recently discontinued chemotherapy since it's not working, Nadia Beazley said in a previous update. At this point, the doctors seem unable to treat the Stage III T-Cell Lymphoblastic Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

And yet, the little girl has vowed to continue to fight and has brought her community together as a result. Neighborhood Facebook pages have been flooded with well wishes as well as concrete efforts to show support for Emily.

Among them is the planned unveiling of Honorary Emily Beazley Avenue at 4 p.m. on Friday at 108th Street and Homan Avenue in Mount Greenwood. Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) pushed to rename the street for the young warrior.

For weeks, Emily's block and others throughout the 19th Ward have decorated their homes, garages, trees and bushes with green and purple lights to show support for the little girl from Mount Greenwood Elementary School.

The "Light It Up for Emily" campaign has also spread to several downtown buildings. The Willis Tower, NBC Tower, Blue Cross, Blue Shield Building and others clad in green and purple lights decorated the skyline on Wednesday night. Pictures of the buildings were shared on social media.

Neighborhood residents are also calling for celebrities including Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Maroon 5 to show their support by flaunting the green and purple colors.

Beazley is hoping to meet these musicians as well. Already, she's visited Gov. Bruce Rauner in Springfield. He named her Governor for the Day on April 9.

So while doctors can do nothing for Emily, others have stepped up to show support. And as Emily's Entourage continues to hope and pray for a miracle, the little girl at the center of the fight refuses to give up.

"We are all so devastated. Emily continues to say that she isn't going anywhere," her mother wrote in the latest update.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: