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Darcy's Courage Is A Lesson

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By STEVE OTTO

sotto@tampatrib.com

Published: November 14, 2008

Tonight was supposed to be the night.

Tonight, in front of a crowd gathered at a $200-a-plate fundraiser for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, Darcy Leillani Enrille was supposed to get up on the stage at the lush Vinoy Hotel in St. Petersburg to accept this year's "What Drives You?" award from the foundation.

Instead, she passed away on Nov. 8, after a long battle with osteosarcoma. You have to believe she will be there in spirit this evening when her mother, Stephanie Enrille, accepts the award for her.

All of us are given challenges and choices. That's what life is all about, isn't it, how we make those choices. It does seem that some of us are given more challenges than others. It is from that group that we more often than not find those exceptional ones who take on whatever they are given and find a way to not only persevere but give the rest of us a lesson in how to live our lives better.

Darcy Enrille grew up in Northdale. She graduated from Hillsborough High's International Baccalaureate program in 2002. Last year she graduated with honors from the University of South Florida with a bachelor of science in mass communications. She was vice president of the Phi Sigma Pi fraternity.

But that was the good side of Darcy's life. On the other side she was waging a war.

On March 6, 2006, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a terrible and rare type of bone cancer.

As if that were not enough, the diagnosis came only months after she had watched her sister Amber die.

It began on Sept. 11, 2001, the day the rest of America changed. Amber Enrille, who was a writer for Bay News 9, had awakened with a high fever. Throughout the day she suffered seizures, and a lack of oxygen put her into a coma. Eventually she went home. Amber died in July of 2005 at the age of 26 with Darcy at her bedside.

In a story in the Tribune in October of 2007, Darcy said, "I literally watched her pass away when she was taken off the ventilator. I saw what that did to our family and friends and what that did to me and I was faced with my own mortality."

The Cancer

It did not take long for Darcy to have to face what was happening. One knee began to swell, although she at first thought it was caused by some physical activity. Then, on the very day she donated her hair to Locks of Love, a program for children with long-term medical issues, she was told she needed to see an oncologist.

She began chemotherapy but the cancer had spread rapidly and doctors advised her she would lose her left leg. On June 2, 2006, her 21st birthday, she had her leg amputated at Shands Hospital on the University of Florida campus.

Scheduled to graduate from USF in December, doctors told her mother she would not make it that long. Instead, she walked to get her degree in August.

The battle continued, with a huge support system of friends and supporters surrounding her. Darcy and her mother went to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for experimental treatment.

The Enrille family, saddled with debts from Amber, were now facing treatments that cost $12,000 a day.

Through all of this, Darcy was willing to speak out on behalf of research. She went to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation to volunteer. The foundation holds an annual banquet called The Fishermen's Ball, which is a huge fundraiser that includes local celebrities. This year, Wade Boggs is honorary chairman. They give out an award for the best essay from someone who is battling cancer.

"Darcy is someone you can never forget," says Barbara Rebold, executive director of the foundation. "Her cancer came back three separate times and yet she never lost that smile or that spirit. For her the glass was truly always half full. I wish you could have seen her when she got what was her greatest wish, a puppy."

Darcy's Message

Here are just a few paragraphs from Darcy's essay, called "Driving up to the Starting Line."

"I close my eyes and open them just in time to see the green flag whip through the air to signal the race has begun. I'm just the passenger, unable to direct where the car goes or how fast it swings around the track...My entire life turned around...I chose to lose my leg because I wasn't going to let cancer win the competition... I underwent a total of eight straight months of intensive, aggressive chemotherapy and by the end I was one sick cookie.

"Currently I am home in Tampa immersing myself with good company, positive attitudes, prayer and a healthy organic lifestyle to beat this cancer and win this race. People live with cancer every day and that is my goal. Doctors can't cure me but if they are able to help stabilize my disease and reduce my pain level, I'll be able to live my life... Either way, I have made the most of my time, traveling by meeting new people, sightseeing and making sure folks around me know my story so I can raise awareness about pediatric cancers.

"Today's experimental treatments could be tomorrow's cure and I am a firm believer in doing everything possible to win the race... I will continue this competition until I see the checkered flag wave through the air to signal my victory.

"It is only the journey that counts, not the result."

A celebration of Darcy's life will be held Monday at St. Paul Catholic Church at 7 p.m. You can honor Darcy with contributions to the Sunshine Project at the Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

Keyword, Otto Graphs, to read and comment on Steve Otto's blog.

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