12-year-old 'Hero on Homan' Inspires Southland

It’s not that Emily Beazley hasn’t heard what doctors have said about her condition. It’s more that she’s just not ready to give up.

The Mt. Greenwood 12-year-old is leading the way with positivity, despite a grim prognosis for the cancer that she has been battling for more than four years.

That’s just her, mother Nadia said.

“She’s just this little tiny, lanky girl,” Beazley said. “We follow her lead. It’s always been that way. She shows us how to be strong.”

The discovery of a new spot at the bottom of her heart and one near her spine led to the news that Emily will never go into remission. But the Taylor Swift fan rarely lets it get the best of her, even bopping around to the pop star’s music while chemotherapy drips into her body.

Emily has an entire community—perhaps even an entire region—backing her up. In a “Light It Up for Emily” movement, residents and businesses are changing out their lightbulbs for ones in purple and green, the signature colors associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Emily was first diagnosed with NHL in 2011. She and her family cruise the neighborhood, taking in the lights, and marveling in how many know of her plight. The outreach stretches across their neighborhood into the Southland, even around the country and world, with purple and green lights shining for Emily in California, New Jersey and more.

“It’s literally, it’s coast-to-coast,” Beazley said, incredulous. “Everyone knows about my baby.”

The community support now extends beyond the glow of lighting, as Beazley recently announced their block on Homan Avenue would be named “Honorary Emily Beazley Avenue” in honor of their fighter. Ald. Matt O’Shea took it upon himself to make sure Emily’s wish would come true, Beazley said.

“She really wanted it,” Beazley said.

While uplifting, the support doesn’t change the reality for the Beazley family. Emily was first diagnosed with stage-3 T-cell lymphoblastic non-Hodgkin lymphoma on April 7, 2011. She finished treatment on July 18, 2013. Since then, she has relapsed several times. Last August, her little sister Olivia donated stem cells but Emily relapsed again in January.

The heartache is unlike anything her parents have ever felt.

“People are so kind, they ask what they can do,” Beazley said. “I wish I could tell them something they can do to make it all better.”

Despite the devastating news, the family remains optimistic.

“In this house we are not sad,” Beazley said. “Yes, I am shattered. I don’t want to get out of bed, but I do. In this house, we are living for the day.”

Emily has compiled a “living wishlist” of things she’d like to do. Among them are a spa day, a trip to Springfield—she can shame anyone with her knowledge of the presidents—and a slumber party with friends.

“For four years, her life has been cheated,” Beazley said. “It breaks my heart.”

“She gets it. She gets it a lot more than I realize. She has this mechanism where she feels she has to be strong for us.”

Emily will start another round of chemo on Monday to help manage her pain. If it worsens, she will undergo radiation.

“I hope no one ever has to go through this,” Beazley said. “Nothing compares to the pain of having your child have cancer.”

The family will celebrate the unveiling of Honorary Emily Beazley Avenue on Friday, April 24. A ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. on the corner of 108th and Homan Avenue. A sign will be erected at the corner of 108th and Homan, and another at 107th and Homan. For Emily, it’s another occasion to anticipate.

“According to her, she’s not going anywhere,” Beazley said. “I’ll let her believe it ‘til her last breath.”

Follow the support for Emily on Light It Up for Emily and a Facebook event in her honor.

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