3rd Dist GOP candidates battle over conservatism
August 26, 2010
Harris Lee Sr.
August 30, 2010
She swung her sparkling purple hula-hoop around her waist about four times before it fell to the ground.
Sporting her purple and gold, “Helping Fight for a Cure” T-shirt at the Bayouland YMCA “Dance for a Cure” benefit, 6-year-old Madison Boudreaux laughed, picked up the hula-hoop, and tried again for a much longer spin.
At first glance it’s hard to tell that just over a year ago Madison was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive type of bone cancer. After removing the tumor in her left arm, her doctors implanted a metal rod, which will have to be stretched over the next 12 years with several surgeries.
But Madison has been declared no evidence of disease (NED) since November.
“My granddaughter had cancer, but she’s been out of chemotherapy since November and just went for her third scan last week,” Ray Boudreaux, Madison’s grandfather said. “We were so grateful that she is NED that we wanted to hold this event to help other kids with cancer.”
Dance for a Cure came into conception, and started out small. Linda Marcel, Madison’s aunt and Zumba instructor at the Bayouland YMCA, thought an event that mixed fitness dancing and raising money would inspire people to come and donate.
“When we first started, we were just going to do a little thing, but then it turned into a big event,” Marcel said. “We just wanted to do something to help out.”
Forty people pre-registered for the event, and dozens of other people showed up throughout the day to support the cause.
“[Linda] wanted to do something for CureSearch, which is an organization that is strictly for childhood cancer research,” said Ray Boudreaux, Madison’s grandfather, who also mentioned a CureSearch cancer walk in September.
The six-hour event, held Saturday at the Bayouland YMCA gymnasium, featured a bake sale, door prizes, food, beverages and dance classes. Marcel and fellow fitness instructor, Donna Redmond ran Zumba Fitness, while other instructors lead hip-hop, hula-hoop and line dancing – all voluntarily.
“It’s for a good cause all around because it’s fitness as well,” Redmond said.
Everything for the event was also donated by locals interested in funding the cause.
“Harvey Sharp, the owner of Performance Power Sports, has volunteered to do all the cooking and covered the expenses for it and everything,” Boudreaux said. “He’s been a big part of it.”
Heather Palm, hula-hoop instructor out of Bayou Blue Recreation Center, was happy to be a part of the event as well.
“When Linda told me about Maddie, I just said ‘Oh, absolutely,’ there is no way I would miss something like this,” she said. “Cancer shows no mercy. You can be young, old, rich, poor – it doesn’t matter. And when it strikes its devastating for both the person involved and the family.”
Palm is also a registered nurse, so the event had even more resonance with her.
“We just want the best for Maddie, and that’s why we are here supporting it,” she said. “This also helps out research for other children with cancer, so we can find out what it is, and let’s cure it. Instead of having to treat it, let’s cure it.”
Six-year-old cancer survivor Madison Boudreaux tests her hula-hooping skills at Bayouland YMCA for Saturday’s “Dance for a Cure” event, created in her honor. JENNA FARMER
